Stop Posting. Start Designing Signals.

Hot take: if you treat every format the same, you’re not “consistent”—you’re careless with attention.

Signal (format): each placement has a job.
• Reels = thumb-stoppers for the doomscroll (guilty).
• Stories = give-back (teach, tease, reward).
• Carousels = pull-through ideas.
• Statics = brand codes + vibe.
• Longform/audio = POV + depth that trains algorithms and people.

👉 Rhode nails this. They don’t just post—they engineer signals. Every format has intent, every piece ladders into the next. That’s why their ecosystem feels cohesive, not chaotic.

Sequence (funnel): in 2025, content isn’t a traffic hose—it’s a visibility engine for humans and AI.
• Awareness: show up in feeds and answers. (Views, shares)
• Interest: earn the second scroll. (Scroll depth, returns, mention density)
• Consideration: win comparisons, not just clicks. (Time on page, trials)
• Conversion: make action obvious—and machine-readable. (Form comps, CTA clicks)
• Retention: keep teaching customers and the model what you’re great at. (Content reuse, subs, knowledge depth)

Skip a layer and AI skips you. Structure wins. Visibility compounds.
Substance (inputs): your output is only as smart as your diet. I’m swapping doomscrolling for “smart scroll”:
• Insanely Simple — simplicity as an operating system for creative.
• Gamification is the secret sauce to Social — what platforms actually rewards and is interactive for the viewer?.
• Why everyone is quitting social — building for connection, not compulsion.
Feed your brain, then feed the feed.

Culture check (signals land differently):
Cracker Barrel’s logo debate wasn’t about vector files—it was about meaning. On the ground, a staffer told me: “The stores don’t need a redesign. The food does.”
Same signal, different reads:
• Loyalists: “You’re changing everything.”
• Culture warriors: “You’ve gone woke.”
• Designers: “Blanding.”
• Operators: “Cosmetic—what’s actually better?”

👉 That’s the cautionary tale: when signals don’t connect to substance, the audience fills in the blanks—and not always in your favor.

Liquid Death is the other end of the spectrum. Their entire business is a masterclass in signals so strong they became the substance: tallboy cans, parody metal branding, over-the-top stunts. The product (water) is commodity. The signal (murder your thirst) is the differentiator. Whether you love it or roll your eyes, you know exactly what they stand for—and that clarity builds culture.

TL;DR for my fellow brand & creative leads:
• Rhode shows how to design the signal (formats with purpose).
• The funnel shows how to engineer the sequence (human + AI).
• Cracker Barrel shows why you upgrade the substance (product + POV).
• Liquid Death shows how signals can become the substance itself.

Do that, and your brand stops posting at people and starts compounding with them.