This paper addresses the differentiation crisis in which 77 per cent of brands could disappear without consumer concern. It argues that purpose-driven strategies prove insufficient because purpose operates vertically towards singular causes while stakeholder capitalism demands horizontal care across multiple dimensions. The paper introduces two complementary frameworks. Firstly, a four-stakeholder model (people, product, customers, world) that maps where care must manifest across the organisation. Secondly, an extraction–creation–distribution cycle that explains how internal operational care translates into external competitive advantage through a continuous, always-on process distinct from conventional campaign thinking. Drawing on empirical evidence, including findings that stakeholder-oriented firms deliver higher annual returns, the paper demonstrates that care operates uniquely at the intersection of authenticity, differentiation, and growth, creating competitive advantage that traditional strategies cannot replicate. Three operational principles and a practical diagnostic for brand leaders provide actionable guidance for implementation. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
This paper is a comparative study of the consumer cultural positioning of two wine brands: Yellow Tail of Casella Wines of Australia and Casillero del Diablo of Concha y Toro of Chile. These two brands have made meaningful gains in many markets across the globe despite the high fragmentation in the world of packaged wines and a general lowering of demand. A qualitative content-analysis-supported case study reveals that both brands were able to reap benefits from a hybridised global consumer culture positioning supported by foreign and local consumer culture positionings. Success lay in utilising the hybridised strategies by the two brands to align their brand value propositions with the evolving global culture of wine consumption. In this effort the two brands, however, chose different strategic moves. The findings should act as a best practice guideline to marketers in utilising consumer culture-based positioning to support their global branding efforts. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
This paper introduces instruments applicable to planning and evaluating business growth, and dives into marketing and sales enablement and marketing synergy impact that drive year-on-year revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation - EBITDA - acceleration. The paper explores the evolution of the marketing funnel and its transformation into a unified growth model, and provides practical advice on how to align marketing and sales in business-to-business environments. It argues that the traditional linear funnel no longer reflects contemporary buying behaviour, as customers move through iterative loops of evaluation, engagement, and advocacy. Using telecom and technology sector examples, the paper demonstrates how integrated data systems, shared metrics, and consistent brand messaging drive higher conversion efficiency and customer lifetime value. It also analyses how organisations can optimise internal resources to manage rising acquisition costs by leveraging customer insights, redefining the ideal customer profile, and adapting strategy. It further underscores that sustainable growth results not from siloed departmental performance but from collaborative, data-driven orchestration across the full revenue cycle. The final section outlines a practical framework for embedding the unified funnel in organisational practice linking brand strategy, sales enablement, and customer relationship management analytics to achieve scalable business growth and maximise return on marketing investment. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Understanding what drives engagement on social media is a key challenge for media brands seeking to strengthen relationships with digital audiences. This study investigates the influence of emotional tone on digital customer engagement on X by analysing interactions between users and major Colombian media brands. Using a dataset of more than 100,000 Spanish-language tweets collected over a one-year period, the research examines how specific emotions — calmness, sadness, anger, and fear — affect engagement behaviours measured through likes, retweets and replies. Advanced natural language processing and machine learning techniques were employed, combining the BETO and ROBERTA models to classify sentiment and emotional tone, while thematic analysis was used to identify content categories including politics, entertainment and sports. The findings indicate that emotional tone is strongly associated with engagement patterns. High-arousal emotions, particularly anger and fear, generate the greatest levels of active engagement through retweets and replies, whereas calmness and sadness are more closely linked to passive engagement through likes. Political content was found to attract the highest levels of interaction, while entertainment content produced more moderate responses. The study highlights the importance of considering both emotional tone and emotional intensity when developing social media strategies. These findings provide practical guidance for media brands seeking to optimise audience engagement through emotionally resonant content while contributing to the growing literature on emotion-driven digital engagement. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Wineries in competitive heritage regions increasingly invest in unconventional visitor experiences to heighten brand engagement and differentiation. However, innovation may threaten authenticity when encounters diverge from established narrative or provenance cues. This paper examines how award-winning wineries navigate the tension between brand authenticity and alternative brand contact experiences. An exploratory qualitative design identified cases through the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards (Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences, 2022–2025). Documentary analysis informed sampling, followed by semi-structured interviews with brand, marketing, and experience managers across eight wineries in Napa Valley and the Cape Winelands. Thematic analysis, supported by reflexive memoing, produced clear guidelines for the planning of authentic alternative experiences. These guidelines, in context of current literature, underpin a proposed Authentic Alternative Brand Contact Experience Grid, detailing best-practice planning principles: (1) a genuinely distinctive brand story; (2) an on-brand unconventional experience that honours brand congruence over time; (3) a lived stewardship that is both experienced and expressed by custodians; (4) the creation of an immersive multisensory experience; (5) expert curation; (6) responsible implementation; and (7) a commitment to continuous refinement and evolution of the experience. The paper advances theories of brand authenticity and experiential innovation, providing management guidance for heritage-positioned brands seeking differentiation with narrative congruence. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
