10 Things to unLearn in 2026

Welcome to brandLingual's very 1st "unLearn to Grow" session!

The live event took place on January 15, 2026, but with this purchase you’ll get access to the recorded session and the slides.

As a bonus, you’ll also receive an entry ticket to our community platform, plus a discount on one course program of your choice.

In this session, we debunked 10 “must-knows” we were taught early in our careers—rules that don’t actually work. We’ll unpack the industry’s secret code—buzzwords like

• Brand Love -> Buying Occasions
• Awareness -> Mental Availability
• Brand Image -> Brand Memory
• Consumer Loyalty -> NBD/Dirichlet model
• Target Personas -> Audience
• Importance of Insight, and more
  —exposing the methods that deliver no real value. You’ll see through the “rebranded” terms and understand what they truly mean in practice.

For a short sneak-peak,

Christopher Owens on A is for Awareness -> Mental Availability:

B is for Brand Image -> Brand Memory

C is for Consideration -> Category Entry Points (CEPs)

🎯 What will You get out of this event? - benefits

After this session, you’ll walk away with:

• Clarity on industry buzzwords and concepts – finally understand those terms you’ve quietly questioned, like “Does this actually work?”
• Confidence to explain the shift – learn how to show your team and clients why old, intuitive approaches are outdated.
• Practical evidence-based translation – easily convert traditional thinking into a more effective, evidence-backed way of strategizing and talking.
• Exclusive access to brandLingual community – a safe, private space to ask your hidden questions, free from judgment and LinkedIn “success theater.”
• 1-month free trial – explore the platform and experience long-term, peer-supported learning firsthand.
  

Double the chance to catch us. We’re hosting this in 2 time zones:

✔️ Jan 15th, 6 pm, CET

✔️ Jan 15th, 6 pm, CST

⭕ What is brandLingual?

We're an educational platform that is designed to bridge the gap between an evidence-based approach and an eminence-based or intuitive approach to marketing, brand, and advertising strategy.

Essentially, we bridge the gap between heavy academic theory that lacks practical application and the other extreme—an over-focus on practice driven by intuition without a real foundation. brandLinguallives right in the middle of this industry chaos with the goal of connecting both sides through a clear use of language and thinking.

🔺 Always worth to check: https://www.brandlingual.co/

🔺 Get inside our heads & listen to our chats: https://www.youtube.com/@brandLingual

Meet Your Trainers

➖ Christopher Owens

Has been Head of Brand Strategy at the independent agency TRG for ~25 years, an educator at Miami Ad School for ~20 years, and co-founder of brandLingual, based in Dallas, Texas.

With over two decades of experience at the intersection of creativity and effectiveness, he has helped global brands build strategies that are both memorable and commercially effective. Christopher has trained and mentored strategists worldwide, combining real-world client experience with a deep understanding of evidence-based marketing, brand, and advertising principles. His teaching focuses on helping practitioners navigate the space where intuition, creativity, and data meet, turning insights into practical, actionable strategies.

➖ Baiba Matisone

An experienced strategist with ~15 years of experience under her belt, an educator, and co-founder of brandLingual, based in Berlin, Germany.

She works at the intersection of brand and creative strategy, marketing, and education, turning complex theory into practical tools teams can actually use. With experience across global brands, agencies, research, and higher education, Baiba helps practitioners navigate the cultural, commercial, and organizational realities that determine whether strategy succeeds. She lectures internationally and builds communities (like Strategy Pints in Berlin, now turned into a global community) that foster honest conversation, shared learning, and sharper strategic thinking.

⭕ What people are whispering about their brandLingual experience? - testimonials

"When I delivered a brand strategy built on my learnings from the brandLingual approach, the client was genuinely excited by the evidence behind it and repeatedly emphasised how clearly it helped articulate and communicate their vision." - Mariss Krasnikovs, Managing Partner, Creative UpFront

"Working with the brandLingual team, I realized just how many essential principles I had misinterpreted because of fragmented info. Christopher & Baiba really helped me understand and unlearn so many false assumptions about how markets & brands actually work. I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to listen to what these instructors have to say. brandLingual team really helped me take a step back and renew a lot of my approaches" - Adishree Mahapatra, Brand Manager, Unilever