Q1: As a retail expert, who are the top 3 retailers you admire most and why? Locally, Rustan’s, SM, and Bench.  These homegrown brands all had humble beginnings and through the years have grown tremendously through constant evolution while remaining true to their brand essence, DNA, and heritage. Rustan’s represents quality, service, and world-class products and experiences.  It has defined […]

Q1: You have expanded from a shirt brand to a tourism brand.  Please tell us what was the insight that led to this transformation? I first got the idea to go into the business of selling souvenir shirts from my travels – shirts were and continue to be the preferred souvenir as they’re light and practical. But many of the […]

Author’s Note: This is Step 1 of a 6-step Logic chain based on the PILA reasoning stack—Problem, Insight, Logic, and Assumptions. Most organizations misclassify what a value proposition is. They treat it as messaging, positioning, or branding clarity. A communication asset owned by marketing and expressed through differentiation language. This is a category error. A value proposition is not what […]

A Discovery in Shanghai Sometimes, the most meaningful strategic journeys begin with a simple question. During a visit to the Shanghai Museum, I walked through galleries filled with reminders of China’s extraordinary past: ancient bronze vessels, calligraphy, and artifacts that carried stories from civilizations that rose, flourished, and disappeared thousands of years ago. Then I saw something that made me […]

Strategy does not fail in execution first. It fails in logic. What usually happens is this: teams build something that looks coherent on paper, defensible in meetings, and impressive in presentations, only to discover later that coherence is not the same as structural validity. At that point, execution is no longer strategy. It is recovery. And recovery is always more […]

Edie Acedera is the founder and managing director of Brandev Insights and Consulting, and co-author of Mommy Republic: Understanding the Filipino Millennial Moms. Prior to Brandev, Edie was the global consumer and market insight director at Unilever, based in Singapore. In this interview, she shares her insights into the evolving behaviors of Filipino consumers, and how marketers can effectively navigate cultural […]

I walked into a meeting with a cup of Zu’s coffee in my hand. It was early December, when Starbucks lines grow longer and planners quietly signal participation in a shared ritual. The person beside me smiled and asked, “Do you like Zu? No Starbucks planner this year?” I laughed and answered honestly. The lines were too long for my […]

In 2025, the most-read articles on josiahgo.com reveal a wide range of reader interests. The topics span timely issues such as the election campaign, alongside perennial marketing concerns, particularly consumer behavior. Notably, nearly 25% of these top articles touch on the theme of trust, an indicator of how central trust has become as we move deeper into what can be […]

Egypt’s Pharaoh faced ten plagues but refused to change. Each warning hardened his heart until destruction followed. Our modern plagues are not locusts or rivers of blood, but corruption, greed, and apathy, forces that destroy trust. For brands and organizations alike, repeated neglect erodes credibility and loyalty. False idols we serve today include: Organizations that worship these idols gradually lose […]

Josiah Go features the movers and shakers of the business world and writes about marketing, strategy, innovation, execution and entrepreneurship

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