Skills
About
A trusted advisor to many of the largest and best brands in the world, Daryl Travis is a rare breed of author, thought leader and highly regarded consultant. His first book Emotional Branding pioneered the idea that brands are largely about feelings not facts. As Founder and Chairman of Brandtrust, his teams apply social and behavioral science to reveal deeper human truths that solve complex brand, innovation and customer experience challenges for many global brands. He could be described as a professor, detective, journalist, psychologist and writer all rolled into one. A colorful and engaging storyteller, Daryl speaks frequently on the power of human truths to change everything including how you think about your customers and your business. He explains how research can lead us astray or help us to gain a competitive edge. “Most research discloses what happens,” he says. “However, it often fails to reveal why it happens or the underlying emotional drivers that are critical in creating an effective strategy.” Daryl’s guiding mantra is The NINA Principle®: No Insight—No Advantage®. Passionate about learning and understanding more about how people think, Daryl is always reading a new book—more than one hundred each year. His voracious reading helps leverage recent breakthroughs in the social sciences to improve the consumer research process, tapping into the deeper underlying emotions and nonconscious motivations critical to revealing insights. Daryl and his wife Donnita extend his continuous learning passion as active members of Chicago’s philanthropic community, volunteering time and resources to support education and literacy programs for underprivileged children throughout the city.
Daryl Travis
Published content
expert panel
In recent years, several prominent brands have learned that marketing can misfire when it collides with consumer sentiment. Bud Light, American Eagle and Cracker Barrel, among others, have drawn public attention not for their creativity or ambition, but for misreading how audiences would react to “clever” campaigns or evolving branding. Even well-intentioned marketing or modernization efforts can alienate longtime customers if they believe campaigns aren’t grounded in authenticity and respect. For marketing leaders, these examples underscore the need for disciplined “backfire filters”—structured ways to assess cultural sensitivity, audience alignment and brand equity before campaigns reach the public. Here, senior marketing experts from the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share how they would have approached the internal conversations surrounding recent “marketing misfires.”
expert panel
Advertising on streaming platforms is no longer at the margins—it’s squarely in the mainstream. As of March 2025, streaming accounted for 43.8% of overall TV time in the U.S.—an increase of 10 points over two years. Meanwhile, linear TV’s primetime ad sales continue a gradual decline—2025-26 primetime ad sales were down 2.5% from the previous upfront, dropping by $1.2 billion since 2023-24 upfronts. For brands, this shift is driving a full-scale reevaluation of media strategy: where to reallocate budgets, how to measure results and how to avoid wasted spend in new formats. Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank—a curated group of marketing leaders with deep expertise in brand storytelling, digital advertising and more—discuss how the shift to streaming media should influence advertising investment decisions, where the biggest opportunities lie in connected TV, and how to spot and manage risks.
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CMO Think Tank members share how small and medium-sized businesses can stand out on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts—even with limited budgets and no video team.
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B2B brands are adopting storytelling and emotional branding strategies once reserved for consumer marketing—building deeper trust, loyalty, and relevance in a crowded marketplace. Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share which brands are getting it right and how others can follow their lead.
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Global brands are rethinking their marketing strategies, moving beyond simple localization to a more immersive, consumer-led approach. Instead of dictating trends, they listen, adapt and co-create with local audiences. Members of the CMO Think Tank share insights on how leading brands are blending global strategy with local nuance to win in diverse markets.
Company details
Brandtrust
Company bio
Brandtrust is a leading brand consultancy to many types of brands offering them a more human way to grow their brands and create meaningful change. From research that unlocks customers’ nonconscious drivers to strategic planning and activation services, we infuse Human Truth into brand building, innovation, experience, behavior, and internal culture challenges.