September 4, 2026
Brand Power Breakdown: Stephen A. Smith’s NABJ Snub
(And Why I Almost Wasn't the Right Person to Write This)
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Articles & Insights
Rhett E. Butler's ongoing publication for articles, analysis, commentary, and strategic insights on brand, culture, perception, influence, and choice.
August 31, 2026
Chipotle Just Handed Its Brand to 100 Strangers. That's Not Chaos. That's the Brand Power Method in Action.
Chipotle’s new “Behind the Foil” push didn’t come from a brand deck.
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July 1, 2026
'96 & Forever: The Genius and the Glitch in JAY-Z's Greatest World-Building Act
A brand strategy breakdown of the Reasonable Doubt 30th anniversary rollout — and the contradiction running underneath it.
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June 23, 2026
The College Degree Is Losing Its Monopoly
Hundreds of colleges are projected to close this decade. The official story is demographics and dollars. The deeper story is a credential whose brand is quietly collapsing and…
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May 14, 2026
He Paid for the Mic (Pause) and Took the Whole Show
What 6ix9ine's Perspektives With Bank appearance reveals about the next evolution of Opinion Entertainment
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May 13, 2026
Why I Apply Freud in Brand Strategy
And Why the Critics Are Missing the Point
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May 13, 2026
The Redefinition of “Washed”: Why Experience Is Your Greatest Brand Asset
In today’s hyper-accelerated, youth-obsessed business culture, there is a word that gets thrown around to describe anyone who has been in the game long enough to remember how…
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May 12, 2026
Therapeutic Entertainment: Why We Need a New Category Before the Next Cheyenne Bryant Happens
The audience didn't get it wrong. The branding did.
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May 10, 2026
Marketing Gets You Found. Branding Makes Them Stay
Two sentences from Seth Godin that reframe everything
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May 5, 2026
Real Journalism Is Not Dead: The Radical Act of Making Power Explain Itself
The Washed Strategist | Cultural Strategy + Media Accountability
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April 22, 2026
THE 50 CENT A/B TEST: TROLLING AS A CULTURAL LITMUS
THE WASHED STRATEGIST // DECODED
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April 21, 2026
The 70% Reckoning: Why Cultural Representation Is Your New Revenue Guardrail
THE WASHED STRATEGIST // DECODED
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From Brand Power Direct
Brand Power Direct 101
Harness the Psychology of Your Brand
Available October 2026