Rule29

06/02/2026

Most companies don't have a marketing problem. They have a clarity problem.

When leadership, marketing, sales, HR, customer experience, and operations all describe the company differently, every touchpoint works harder than it should. That's why we built the Brand Roadmap. Not to create another brand document that sits on a shelf.

To help organizations answer questions like:
• Why do we exist beyond making money?
• What promise are we making to customers?
• How do we want people to describe us when we're not in the room?
• What makes us different in a way that actually matters?

When those answers become clear, everything gets easier:
✓ Better websites
✓ Stronger marketing campaigns
✓ More aligned teams
✓ Faster decision making
✓ More consistent customer experiences
✓ Greater trust and loyalty

The strongest brands aren't built from logos or taglines. They're built from alignment.

The Brand Roadmap helps organizations align around their Purpose, Promise, Personality, and Perception before investing in creative, campaigns, websites, or growth initiatives. Because creative works best when everyone knows exactly what they're building toward.

If your team would answer "What do we stand for?" five different ways, it might be time for a roadmap. For more check this out: https://www.rule29.com/brand-roadmap

06/02/2026

What SEO, AEO, and GEO Really Mean Now, and What Smart Businesses Should Do Next

Justin Ahrens argues that SEO, AEO, and GEO represent an evolution from traditional search ranking to answer extraction and AI-generated citation systems, meaning businesses now need not just discoverable websites, but clear, credible, and consistently structured brands that machines can confidently understand, trust, and reference.

Read the full feature :

Justin Ahrens argues that SEO, AEO, and GEO represent an evolution from traditional search ranking to answer extraction and AI-generated citation systems, meaning businesses now need not just discoverable websites, but clear, credible, and consistently structured brands that machines can confidently...

05/29/2026

The best creative work doesn't just entertain us. It helps us see ourselves, our stories, and the world around us a little differently.

That's one reason we're excited about the premiere of Sleeping At Last: Light Carries On - produced and filmed by our long time partner Brian MacDonald from Wonderkind Studios.

Through music, reflection, and honest storytelling, this film explores what it means to create meaningful work and live with intention. Themes that are close to our hearts at Rule29.

If you're looking for something thoughtful, inspiring, and deeply human, we encourage you to give it a watch. Let us know what part of the story stays with you.

🎬 Watch the premiere today and this weekend!!!

https://kinema.com/films/sleeping-at-last-light-carries-on-mxloxy

05/27/2026

Reservation 15 of At The Table became a conversation about leadership, uncertainty, AI, burnout, pressure, family, purpose, and what it means to stay connected to yourself and others while the world keeps accelerating around us.

There was no agenda to solve anything. No performance. No pretending certainty. Just honest conversation.

One idea kept surfacing throughout the night: People are craving connectedness more than perfection. Connectedness to meaningful work.

To honest friendships. To teams they trust. To families they feel present with. To lives that actually feel aligned instead of simply productive.

At one point someone said: “The future will belong to leaders willing to admit they’re still learning.” Because underneath all the conversation about leadership and technology was something much more human:

People are tired. Not just physically. Emotionally.
Tired of performing certainty.
Tired of managing perception.
Tired of feeling connected to everything digitally while disconnected from each other personally.

And maybe that’s why nights like this matter. Not because anyone leaves with perfect answers. Because people leave reminded they’re not carrying these questions alone.

Grateful for conversations that help people feel a little more human again. If you are interested in moments like this - check out: https://www.atthetable.is/



Thank you John Pobojewski, Scott Hursthouse, Aveline Hauser, Jonathan Fiala, and Brad Farris for joining!

05/21/2026

Some people just feel like a natural fit from day one. We’re excited to welcome Jenn Totten back to the Rule29 team as our new Senior Account Lead.

Jenn brings experience in brand strategy, content development, client leadership, and campaign ex*****on, along with a thoughtful way of helping brands clarify their story and strengthen how they connect with people.

She’s passionate about storytelling, positioning, and turning complex ideas into clear, meaningful action. At Rule29, she’ll help lead key client engagements from strategy through ex*****on while partnering closely with our team and clients to create work that truly matters.

Outside of work, Jenn is usually planning her next trip, redesigning a space in her home, or spending time with her 12 nieces and nephews. Lisbon still ranks high on her list of favorite places, and there’s a good chance a Tito’s and water is involved somewhere at the end of the week.

Welcome back, Jenn. We’re really glad you’re here: https://www.rule29.com/team/jenn-totten

05/18/2026

What does it actually take to build a career in comedy?

Apparently it helps if:
+ your family treats the dinner table like an Olympic debate event
+ your dad laughs so hard in church he gets in trouble
+ and your roommate is 91 years old

In this episode of DesignOf Podcast, Nancy O'Connor talks about what it really looks like to pursue stand-up comedy while life keeps handing you material whether you asked for it or not.

We talk about bombing at open mics, awkward dating stories, turning family chaos into bits, and learning that most comedians are basically just observers with a Notes app and unresolved issues.

But underneath all the laughs is something deeper.

This conversation is about finding your voice before you fully believe in it. About doing things before you feel ready. And about realizing that the weird, uncomfortable, everyday moments in your life might actually be the thing worth paying attention to. “I don’t think you decide to be a comedian once. I think you keep deciding.”

Listen here: https://www.rule29.com/podcast/the-design-of-figuring-it-out-on-stage-meet-nancy-o-conner

05/14/2026

When everyone can design, what actually matters changes.
AI is making creation faster. Easier. More accessible.

But it is also making one thing clear. Good design is not the advantage anymore. Clear thinking is.

The brands that win will not be the ones who make more. They will be the ones who mean more.

This is why Making Creative Matter matters now more than ever.
Worth the read if you are building a brand, not just content.
https://www.rule29.com/stories/when-everyone-can-design-what-matters-changes

Grateful to Print Magazine for including our writing and our podcast Design Of on their platform.

If you are thinking through what this shift means for your brand, let’s connect.

05/08/2026

What happens when an entire industry starts thinking like a platform instead of just a show?

Working with Amusement Expo International, we had the chance to help bring operators, manufacturers, distributors, and innovators closer together than ever.

From strategy and theme to design, AI, advertising, and more, this was about building something bigger than a moment. It was about creating a year-round connection point for the industry.

“Next Is Now: Tomorrow’s industry. Today’s platform.” wasn’t just a line. It became the direction.

Grateful for the trust. Even more excited for what’s ahead.

If you’re thinking about how to evolve your brand, event, or platform, let’s connect. https://www.rule29.com/contact

05/05/2026

What happens when we stay in the tension between who we are and who we feel expected to be? Most of us move past it. Push through. Perform. At Reservation 14 of At The Table, we didn’t.

We stayed there. Long enough for real stories to show up. The kind that don’t come out in meetings. The kind that connect people faster than any strategy ever could.

Because story has a way of cutting through all of it. Titles. Roles. Expectations. And when people share honestly, something shifts. You stop comparing. You start understanding.

That’s where connection actually happens. Not in perfect answers. In shared truth. That’s what community is built on.

If that resonates, take a look: https://www.atthetable.is/



Thank you Mark Gibson, MBA, Ph.D., Tanner Woodford, Miriam Cleveland, and Christopher Lowe for the time.

04/30/2026

There’s a moment in a lot of careers that doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s not the beginning, and it’s not the success. It’s the moment where what’s worked… no longer feels like enough.

We recently sat down with Brown on the DesignOf Podcast. Many know her as an actor and singer, but what stood out most in our conversation wasn’t her résumé. It was the shift she’s in right now. After years of building a career inside the entertainment industry, she’s starting to ask bigger questions about how it all works, who it serves, and what needs to change.

At one point she said, “I don’t just want to be part of the story anymore. I want to help shape how the story is told.”

That line captures everything. It’s the move from participation to ownership. From working within a system to rethinking it entirely. Through her company, Rhume, she’s stepping into that space and building something new. Not just more content, but a different approach to storytelling, access, and impact. You can also watch and listen to her on her podcast The Open Door - link on our episode page.

If you’ve ever felt the tension between where you are and where you know you’re meant to go, this conversation will resonate.

It’s honest, thoughtful, and a reminder that growth doesn’t always look like progress on the outside.

https://www.rule29.com/podcast/the-design-of-changing-the-system-not-just-the-story-meet-rhyon-nicole-brown