If you’ve been feeling like marketing has gotten… weird lately, you’re not imagining it.
The internet is overflowing with “perfect” AI images, over-polished copy, and brands screaming louder and louder just to stay visible. Trust - real trust - is slipping through our fingers.
That’s exactly why my conversation with Scott Martin was so timely.
Scott is the founder of Groundswell Origins, author of Groundswell, host of The Groundswell Podcast, and one of the sharpest minds reshaping how modern brands grow. His core idea is disarmingly simple:
We’re leaving the Age of Attention and entering the Age of Trust.
And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
The Slack Tide: Where Marketing Is Breaking Down
Scott uses this beautiful metaphor from the ocean. The period between high tide and low tide - when the water is directionless - is called slack tide. Scott says that’s where we are in business right now.
Attention is collapsing. Content is multiplying. Audiences are skeptical. Marketers - once the storytellers - have become one of the least trusted groups in business.
But the solution isn’t more marketing.
Groundswell: Marketing Without Marketing
Scott calls himself a “recovering growth hacker.” He was one of the original whack-a-mole tacticians - chasing spikes, hacks, and quick wins. But over time he saw the pattern: the spike always ends.
So he built something new: Sustainable Growth Marketing → powered by trust, coherence, and long-term transformation.
His Groundswell Method breaks down into four stages:
Build. Clarify who you are, what you stand for, and the future you’re creating. (Founders skip this far too often.)
Give. Offer genuine value and energy before asking for anything.
Grow. Deepen relationships instead of obsessing over lead volume.
Transform. Create such a remarkable customer experience that people evangelize you without being asked.
My favorite line from Scott in this episode:
“People don’t buy from you until they buy into you.”
That’s the shift. That’s the future.
Brand Coherence: Scott’s Next Big Idea
Scott’s upcoming book introduces a new category: Brand Coherence.
Not consistency. Not messaging alignment.
But a deeper integrity - where what you promise, what you say, and what you deliver all match.
In a world drowning in AI-generated everything, coherence becomes a competitive advantage.
Why This Matters for Founders Right Now
Because the old playbook is disintegrating. Because trust is the new currency. Because audiences can smell incoherence a mile away.
And because marketing that actually works in 2025 and beyond won’t look like “marketing” at all.
It’ll look like you showing up with genuine clarity, purpose, and generosity.
Scott and I jammed on all of this - and on lightning strikes, category design, and the deeper patterns shaping the next era of business.
This episode is a warm invitation into a new way of thinking.
Give it a listen, and let me know what resonates most.
Strike Marketing Summit: Just 8 Days Away
We’re officially eight days out from the Strike Marketing Summit — happening Dec. 11, 11 AM–6 PM CST — and I’ve got big news.
I just secured two of the top minds in Category Design as speakers:
Kevin Maney and Mike Damphousse of Category Design Advisors.
They’ll join me, Pablo Gonzalez, and Chris Stanley on the Category Design Panel at 11 AM CST on Day 1. And immediately after, at 12 PM CST, Kevin and Mike will share insights from their brand-new upcoming book, The Category Creation Formula: Discover, Design, and Win New Market Categories - including fresh research and brand-new conclusions in the field.
This summit keeps leveling up.
Grab your free ticket: https://summit.strikemarketingsummit.com
Fernando Labastida
Strike Marketing Institute
