Most marketing teams build pyramids upside down

Sometimes I behave like a pharaoh in marketing meetings, because I keep drawing pyramids. I don’t even think about it. I grab the pen and start from the bottom. That’s how my brain works.

The base: value

When I think about campaigns, I don’t think about content first. I think about the base, because if the base is weak, everything on top is decoration. At the bottom there is value. Real value. A clear UVP. Why do we deserve attention? Why should anyone care? If that part isn’t strong, simple and backed by data, we are building on sand.

Pillars and themes

Then come the pillars. Two, three, maybe four main directions that hold everything up. They must connect directly to the value. If they don’t, it becomes random activity that just looks busy.

If it’s long term, each pillar gets a theme. Seasonal, contextual, something alive. Otherwise strategy becomes a PDF that nobody opens again.

Content, last

Only after that do we talk about content. Content is the visible top of the pyramid. It’s what people see. But it should serve the theme, the theme should serve the pillar, and the pillar should serve the value.

Most teams start from the top. What do we post? What video do we make? What should we push on LinkedIn this week? I’d guarantee that more than 90% start with content ideas. You can produce 50 assets, run ads, automate everything with AI, schedule three months of content and still build nothing. It’s like building the tip of a pyramid first and hoping gravity will be kind. It never is.

The feedback loop

Every piece of content gives insight. That insight goes back down, sharpens the base, adjusts the pillars and shapes the next cycle. No magic, no secret formula.

Just structure protecting creativity. Maybe that's why pyramids are still standing.

Originally published: LinkedIn, March 2026 · the pharaoh post, March 2026