This is Not That

Episode 2: This Is Not That
In this episode, Shayne Mackey draws a clear line between trend-driven content marketing and timeless brand strategy. If you’re tired of chasing algorithms, overwhelmed by daily posting, or unsure why your brand feels inconsistent, this episode explains the difference between noise and strategy — and why building a brand requires clarity, conviction, and long-term thinking.

What You’ll Learn

• The real difference between content strategy and brand strategy
• Why you must build a brand before you build content
• Why excellence matters more than relatability
• How legacy brands like Tiffany and Ritz-Carlton maintain longevity
• The mindset required to build a brand that lasts

Key Takeaways

• Strategy is timeless. Tactics change.
• You cannot content-create your way into a brand.
• Remarkable brands endure; relatable ones fade.
• Clarity makes marketing effortless.
• Long-term thinking is a competitive advantage.

What is The Brand Atelier Show?

The Brand Atelier Show
Most brand advice chases trends. This podcast builds brands that last.
Hosted by Shayne Mackey, a brand strategist with over 30 years working with Fortune 500 companies and legacy brands, The Brand Atelier Show cuts through the noise of viral tactics and flavor-of-the-month marketing to focus on what actually matters: strategic positioning, enduring identity, and brands built for the long game.
If you're a founder, brand strategist, or creative director tired of being told to "just post more on TikTok," this is your antidote. Every episode delivers expert-level thinking on brand architecture, messaging, visual identity, and the strategic decisions that separate brands people remember from brands people scroll past.
No hype. No shortcuts. Just decades of experience distilled into actionable strategy for building brands with staying power.
New episodes weekly.

Shayne Mackey (00:01)
Welcome to the brand atelier. I'm Shane Mackey. And before we go any further here in our second episode, I need to be really clear about something. This is not that. And you know what I mean by that. The daily content grind, the personal brand influencer playbook, the show up every day and the algorithm will reward you approach, the templates and the tactics and the growth hacks. This is not that.

And I need you to know that right now, because I respect your time too much to let you get 10 episodes in and realize we're building something completely different than what you thought. So let's get clear. Let's draw some lines and let's talk about what the brand atelier is and what it isn't. Because if what you want is that there are incredible people teaching it. Go learn from them. I mean that sincerely. But if you're building something different,

If you're thinking in years, not quarters, if you want strategic depth, not surface tactics, if you're trying to build a brand that could outlast you, then welcome, you're in the right place. This is not a podcast about how to post on Instagram seven days a week or how to optimize your TikTok hooks or which trending audio to use. Those things might matter to your business, but they're not brand strategy, they're marketing tactics.

This is a podcast about brand strategy, about positioning, about building something with depth and meaning and longevity. And then you can show up anywhere, social media, your website, a keynote stage, a retail store, and be unmistakably, recognizably you. And here's the difference. Content strategy is going to ask you, what do I post today? Where brand strategy asks, what do I stand for? Content strategy says, how do I get more followers?

Brand strategy asks, who am I trying to reach and why should they care? Content strategy says what's trending and brand strategy asks what's timeless. Now, please listen, I'm not saying content doesn't matter. Of course it matters. But if you build content before you build brand, you're just making noise. You're adding to the chaos. You're exhausting yourself trying to feed an algorithm that we all know will change the rules tomorrow.

But when you have a clear brand, when you know who you are and what you stand for, who you're for and who you're not for, content becomes easy. It flows. It's consistent. It's recognizable. And it builds equity. You cannot content create your way into a brand, but you can brand your way into effortless content. This podcast is about doing the deep work first. And I need to say this clearly.

This is not for everyone. This is not for people who want quick wins or overnight success or a template they can plug their business into. This is not for people who want to build a personal brand that's just dependent on their personality, their face, their collabs, their daily presence. Although, I ask you to stick around because those personal brands absolutely need strategy too

This is not for people who are looking for the easy path or the comfortable path or the path everyone else is taking. This is for founders and brand leaders who are thinking years ahead. This is for people building businesses that could outlast them, that could be sold or passed down or become institutions in their industry. This is for people who understand that strategy takes time, that positioning is really hard work.

And that clarity requires saying no to a lot of good opportunities so that you can say yes to the right ones. This is for people who are willing to be misunderstood in year one so they can be undeniable in year five. If you need permission to think long-term in a world obsessed with daily and quarterly results, you have that permission right here. And that's what we're doing.

I'm going to say something that might sound harsh, but I think you need to hear it. Your brand doesn't need to be relatable. It needs to be remarkable. Now, before you push back on that, let me explain. There's this entire school of thought right now that says if you just show up of yourself, if you're authentic and vulnerable and real, people will connect with you and want to work with you. And for some business models, that's true. If you're building a business where you are the product,

Relatability absolutely matters. But if you're building a brand, a product-based brand, a service organization, an institution, something that could exist without you, relatability is not the goal. Excellence is the goal. Clarity is the goal. Being so good at what you do that people can't ignore you, that is the goal. Tiffany didn't build a billion dollar brand by being relatable. They built a world.

of craftsmanship, elegance, and emotional meaning. And they invited people in who resonated with that world to be part of it. Ritz-Carlton doesn't try to be relatable. They try to be exceptional. And the people who value exceptional service become very loyal customers. This podcast is about building brands that are clear, distinctive, and excellence, not brands that are for everyone.

I've been doing this work for over 30 years. Brand strategy, marketing, creative direction. I've worked for a fortune 500 companies, legacy brands, advocacy organizations, founder led brands, personal brands. And here's what I know. Tactics change, platforms change and trends change, but strategy, strategy is timeless. The principles that made Tiffany iconic in the 19, in the 1800s are the same principles that make a brand iconic today.

aesthetic discipline, consistency, and a clear point of view. The brand stewardship that made Ritz-Carlton legendary 50 years ago, it's still what makes them legendary today. Attention to detail, standards of excellence, a commitment to their mission. So when I talk about brand strategy on this podcast, I'm not gonna tell you what to post or which platform to be on or what the latest marketing trend is.

I'm going to teach you the principles, the foundations, and the strategic thinking that works regardless of what platform exists or what tactic is popular this quarter. Because here's the truth. If you're chasing tactics, you'll always be one step behind. But if you understand strategy, you can adapt to anything.

So let me tell you what this podcast is going to ask of you. It's going to ask you to think. It's going to ask you to go deep, to question assumptions, to make hard choices, to say no to opportunities that don't align, to have the discipline to stay consistent even when it's not getting you immediate results. It also may really irritate you, and I may really irritate you. It's going to ask you to do work that might not pay off for months or even years.

It's going to ask you and challenge you to build something that might not be popular, but it will be respected. And that's not easy, and I'm never going to pretend that it is. But here's what I truly know. The work that matters is never easy. And if you're someone who's willing to do hard things, who's willing to think strategically, who's willing to build with intention and discipline and patience, the rewards are extraordinary.

You build a brand that doesn't need you to show up every day to survive. You build a brand that commands premium pricing because people understand the value. You build a brand that attracts the right clients, the right opportunities, the right partnerships because your positioning is so clear that the wrong people self-select out. You build something that lasts. And that's worth the hard work.

So why am I being so direct about all of this here in the very beginning of this podcast? Because I've watched too many founders waste years building the wrong thing, chasing followers instead of building equity, creating content instead of creating strategy, trying to be everything to everyone instead of being unmistakably something to someone. And I don't want that to be you. I want you to know exactly what you're signing up for with this podcast.

I want you to that this is going to challenge you, it's going to push you, it's going to ask you to think differently than most of the business content you're consuming. But I also want you to know that if you stick with this, if you do the deep work, if you build strategically, if you have the patience to play the long game, you will build something remarkable. Not relatable, remarkable. Not for everyone, for the right people. It's absolutely not easy.

but is definitely worth it. And that's the promise of the brand atelier. So here's what you can expect from this podcast going forward. We're gonna do deep dive teaching episodes where I unpack one strategic concept at a time. Things like brand positioning, competitive analysis, mission and vision development, brand architecture. We're gonna do brand breakdowns where I deconstruct legacy brands and modern brands through a strategic lens. I'm so excited about those.

We'll study brands across industries and we'll look at what makes them work, sometimes what makes them not work, what principles they're built on, and what you can learn from them, their successes and their failures. We're going to have conversations with brand builders, founders, creative directors, strategists who are thinking long-term and building with intention.

We're going to do thought leadership episodes where I'm going to share my perspective on what's happening in the brand world and what I think needs to change. And those scare me to death. And we're going to do Q &A episodes where I answer your questions about brand strategy, positioning, and building something that lasts. This is not going to be a daily podcast. This is not going to be really short snackable episodes. This is going to be thoughtful, strategic, and deep. Because that's what brand strategy requires.

If you're still here, if you've made it to the end of this episode, I thank you. And if you're thinking, yes, this is what I need, then welcome to the brand, Atelier. I am so glad you're here. Let's build something that lasts.