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- Marketing Wins Quarters. Movements Win Decades.
Marketing Wins Quarters. Movements Win Decades.
Movements Compound. Propaganda Collapses.
Vivek Nanda
September 07, 2025
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Hello and welcome to the 183rd edition of Fresh Salmon.
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Don’t Just Market. Build a Movement.
There’s a line you hear a lot in modern marketing:
“Don’t just market your company. Build a movement.”
But what does that actually mean?
Is it just another buzzword… or a strategic shift every brand should pay attention to?
Let’s unpack it.
Marketing vs. Movement
Marketing is about visibility. It gets you leads, impressions, clicks.
Necessary, yes - but transactional.
Movements, on the other hand, are about belonging. They create shared identity, belief, and purpose around your brand.
And here’s the key: movements outlive campaigns, founders, and even companies. They embed your brand into culture.
Marketing wins quarters.
Movements win decades.
Examples of Companies That Built Movements
1. Apple - “Think Different”
Apple didn’t just sell computers. They sold rebellion against the ordinary. Their “Think Different” campaign was less about specs and more about identity: if you believe in creativity, individuality, and challenging the status quo, you’re one of us. That turned Apple into a movement that still resonates decades later.
2. Patagonia - “Don’t Buy This Jacket”
Patagonia transformed their customers into environmental activists. By openly encouraging conscious consumption, they stood for something bigger than apparel. Today, Patagonia isn’t just a brand, it’s a sustainability movement embraced by its community.
3. Tesla - “Accelerating the World’s Transition to Sustainable Energy”
Tesla made electric cars aspirational. They weren’t just vehicles, they were a step into the future. Owners didn’t feel like customers; they felt like pioneers. That’s movement thinking.
Why Movements Matter More Today
Attention is fragmented: In the content-saturated world, ads alone can’t sustain attention. Movements give people a reason to keep showing up.
Trust is scarce: A movement builds community trust, not just customer transactions.
Belonging is currency: People don’t just want products; they want to align with missions. Movements give identity, not just utility.
And most importantly:
Movements compound. Campaigns fade the second budgets run out. Movements grow stronger as more people join in.
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Movements vs. Propaganda
But to understand movements fully, we also need to talk about their dangerous cousin: propaganda.
Marketing vs. Movements vs. Propaganda
Marketing = gets attention, drives transactions.
Movements = build belonging, identity, and cultural pull that compounds over time.
Propaganda = manipulates behavior using half-truths or deception. It may win in the short term, but it corrodes trust in the long term.
The danger?
Propaganda often looks like movement-building, until you peel back the layers.
Historical Examples of Propaganda in Business
1. Torches of Freedom (1929)
Edward Bernays, often called the father of public relations, orchestrated a stunt where women smoked cigarettes during a parade in New York, branding them as “Torches of Freedom”. The campaign reframed smoking as a symbol of female liberation, and cigarette sales skyrocketed.
But this wasn’t empowerment. It was corporate manipulation dressed up as social progress. The long-term consequence: decades of nicotine addiction and public health crises.
2. “More Doctors Smoke Camels” (1940s-50s)
In the mid-20th century, tobacco companies ran ads featuring doctors endorsing cigarettes. Campaigns for Camel cigarettes even claimed that medical professionals preferred their brand. This lent cigarettes the credibility of science and medicine at the expense of truth.
Again, short-term win. Long-term disaster. These campaigns destroyed trust not just in brands, but in entire industries.
Why Propaganda Fails as a Growth Strategy
It’s Manipulative: Propaganda hijacks identity, fears, or aspirations without truly serving them.
It’s Unsustainable: Once uncovered, propaganda erodes trust permanently. Customers don’t just leave, they become vocal opponents.
It’s Extractive: Propaganda takes value in the moment but doesn’t build community, loyalty, or resilience.
Movements, in contrast, thrive because they are authentic, participatory, and consistent with values.
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How to Build a Movement (Without Slipping Into Propaganda)
Anchor in Truth: Start with a belief bigger than your product, but make sure it’s real.
Name It: Give your movement a phrase, rallying cry, or language people can share.
Invite Participation: Let customers co-create: share stories via podcasts, join events, spread ideas. Movements are never one-way broadcasts.
Stay Consistent: Movements require reinforcement, not pivots every quarter.
Measure Trust, Not Just Clicks: Propaganda measures conversions. Movements measure belief and belonging.
The Key Takeaways:
Marketing is short-term oxygen.
Movements are long-term gravity.
But….Propaganda manipulates and erodes trust.
The companies that matter in 2025 won’t just advertise. They’ll build authentic movements that inspire loyalty, outlive campaigns, and become cultural touchstones.
Don’t chase clicks. Don’t manipulate fears. Don’t fall into propaganda.
Build something people want to belong to.
Because movements compound. Propaganda collapses.
Interesting Thing That I Read This Week
From Naval Ravikant’s archives..this one is 🔥🔥
That’s it for this week! If you found this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend.
See you next time!
Do what is good for your soul ❤️
All the best,
Vivek
PS. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways in which I can help you and your business:
#1: B2B Marketing Consulting and Go-To-Market Advisory for your business.
#2: 1-on-1 Personal Coaching and Mentoring on anything related to Marketing and Go-To-Market Strategies for you.
#3: Promoting you or your brand via this newsletter.
For any of these things just shoot me a reply, and we will arrange a time to chat.