The Marketing Architects The Risks of Brand Activism with Professor Tyler Milfeld
Jan 27, 2026
Tyler Milfeld, a Villanova professor and former brand manager at Hershey and PepsiCo, explores the pitfalls of brand activism and repositioning. He discusses why rebrands fail, the credibility gap in purpose messaging, how brand power raises expectations, when to stand firm versus retract, and why insight beats shiny tactics.
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Caturday: A Proud Marketing Creation
- Tyler described creating "Caturday" with Petco as a proud career moment despite not being a cat person.
- The idea resonated deeply with cat lovers and continued because it proved successful.
Four Reasons Repositioning Fails
- Repositioning often fails due to four Rs: resistance, replacement, relativity, and rigidity.
- These create consumer inertia, unfavorable comparisons, insider bias, and stubborn execution that block success.
The Credibility Gap In Purpose
- Brand purpose became a shortcut to perceived relevance as social issues rose in consumer attention.
- Without historical credibility, purpose activations can come across as forced and odd.