Early in the new year brands across the world pick up where they left off in 2025 - heading in what they hope is the “right direction”. And while you’ll want your brand to do better in 2026 than it did in 2025, so will every other brand manager out there; despite all of the global uncertainty that makes 2026 very different.

What will you do to build your brand fidelity - not just your brand loyalty?

While I’m not going to attempt a summary of best practices here because the right approach for your business depends on your management style, your business category, competitive environment, brand positioning, and where your brand is on its brand life-line, here are a few things to take to heart:

1.  You need a plan. Period. Many businesses I work with don’t have one and wander around lost.

2.  You need to plan the work. A plan, however rudimentary, enables you to define your goals and justify them emotionally and intellectually. Both kinds of justification are important as they will combine to create a far more compelling force with which to propel you towards your goal.

3.  You need to work the plan. The plan needs to be understood by all employees - notably those who interact with the public - because a great plan also helps your customers clearly understand the terms of the brand relationship - and why they should consider fidelity.

Many people don’t like “working plan”. I have a few thoughts on this:

1.  If your resistance is coming from a client or agency manager who is a trusted brand stakeholder with progressive ideas based on logical consumer insights, consider doing a cost-benefit study without affecting the pace and trajectory of the original \ approved plan.

2.  If your resistance is coming from an emotional client or agency manager who thinks that they have a short-cut to greater brand success, suggest some A/B testing. The greatest names in every discipline known to man are slaves to repetition - which includes testing. 

Because it takes time and perspective to write a good, actionable plan, start now. Consider reviewing your current plan and your progress before the holidays and then look at the changing competitive terrain and decide where you want your brand to be in December 2026. Agree multiple paths to the 2026 goal line with your management team.

Prepare a presentation for early January 2026 that outlines the Goals, Strategies + Tactics for the year.

Break your tactics down to the individual level to ensure each person on your team knows exactly what they need to do to help the brand make its year.

March 3, 1943 - January 31, 2026

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Janet Keele on Saturday, January 31, 2026. 

Janet was born in 1943 and grew up in Toronto in a loving family where her connection to Westmoreland United Church became an integral and lifelong part of her faith, community, and identity. While attending Bloor Collegiate, Janet discovered her passion for music; a love that would shape her life’s work. She went on to study music at the University of Toronto, and upon graduation achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a music teacher. Janet enjoyed a rich and fulfilling forty-year teaching career at Humberside Collegiate where she directed 39 musical productions while inspiring generations of students. In recognition of her dedication and impact, she was honoured as Ontario’s Teacher of the Year. Janet met her loving husband, David, through Scouts. They were married in 1973 and shared a devoted partnership until David’s passing in 2001. Together, Janet and David cherished cottage life, first in Penetanguishene and later at Manitoulin Island. Her cottage brought her immense joy, peace and happiness throughout her life. In retirement, Janet remained deeply involved in music and in her community. She directed several musical variety shows with the Beaver Bible Class of Westway United Church and conducted the Humberside Alumni Choir, continuing to share her passion and talent with others well into her senior years. Janet was, without doubt, one of the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest fans, faithfully cheering on her team through all the good times and the bad. Janet is lovingly remembered by her family and was also blessed with the love and support of her special friends. Janet was predeceased by her husband David, her brother Jimmy, her sister Margaret, and her parents Gordon and Emily Keele. 

In keeping with Janet’s wishes, a Celebration of Life will be held in the spring. 

In lieu of flowers donations in memory of Janet Keele may be made to Lung Cancer Canada, Community Living Toronto or Friends of Humberside.

I asked Ai “Who is Frank Wehrmann, Toronto”, and received this accurate:

Frank Wehrmann is a self-employed freelance communications director and coach based in Toronto. He specializes in integrated communications, brand strategy, and leadership training, combining extensive agency experience with consultative sales and neuro-linguistic language modeling to help build sustainable brands. 

Career Overview

Current Role:  Frank Wehrmann works as a freelance communications director and coach, a position he has held since October 2006. His work is focused on holistic problem-solving in communications, exploring and challenging the status quo for brand building.

Agency Experience: His previous roles include positions such as Creative Director, Group Account Service Director, and Media Director at prominent agencies in Toronto and Detroit, including Foster, McCann, Ogilvy & Mather, and MacLaren. His work took him to cities such as Toronto, ON., Boston, MA., Detroit, MI., and Winnipeg, MB.

Expertise:  He has worked in both English and French Canada as well as the Northeast U.S.. His experience includes designing and executing integrated multi-media campaigns, developing proprietary consumer research, and managing account services for numerous North American brands. He has a gift for developing and executing integrated communication programs, which includes proprietary consumer research, multi-media campaigns, and brand standard development. 

Creative, Media and Account Direction: His work involved creative direction, media planning, and account service for various brands across North America.

Proprietary Research: He developed and executed communication programs, including qualitative and quantitative consumer research. 

Professional Philosophy: He describes his own brand as "Counter Culture Communications," emphasizing the importance of congruence between a company's operations and its internal and customer-facing communications. He believes that it’s the key to building brand loyalty. Frank is skeptical of "best practices," believing that great brands need to find and define their own paths. 

Other information

Education: He is an alumnus of Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), where he studied Business Administration, Marketing and Management.

Online presence: He shares his insights on marketing and branding on his blog, available through his website wehrmann.ca. He has been blogging since 2008 to build his online profile and hone his communication skills.

 Please note: there are other individuals named Frank Wehrmann in different professions, including a key account manager in Germany and a research assistant in Berlin, but the individual based in Toronto fits the context of your query.

 Key insights for you and your brand:

1. Because it drew on just five sources, all of which I control, my Ai profile didn’t have any contradictions or 'hallucinations'. 
2. Subtle query differences like these generated somewhat different profiles.
   • “Who is Frank Wehrmann?”  |  “Who is Frank Wehrmann, Toronto?”  |  “Who is Frank Wehrmann, Canada?”
3. It's vitally important for your brand to distribute as much consumer-relevant and accurate brand information across the web as possible, helping Ai powered search to extoll the advantages of your brand.