DoorDash CEO Tony Xu is taking on the role of industry consolidator in food delivery 

(via CNBC) 

Tony Xu has grown DoorDash from a college startup into a nearly $90 billion company, recently acquiring Deliveroo for $3.9 billion and SevenRooms for $1.2 billion to expand globally and diversify services. Known for prioritizing customer and restaurant relationships, Xu led moves like cutting commissions during COVID, even at the cost of $100 million in revenue. Despite slim profits and fierce competition, DoorDash continues to pursue strategic acquisitions and market leadership under Xu’s operational focus and long-term vision.

Brand Insights → DoorDash's recent acquisitions signal a strategic shift from scrappy disruptor to global consolidator, reinforcing Tony Xu’s vision of long-term category dominance. By absorbing Deliveroo and SevenRooms, the brand isn’t just expanding reach, it’s deepening its ecosystem across logistics and hospitality tech. This move enhances cultural relevance by positioning DoorDash as a partner to both consumers and businesses, not just a delivery app. The storytelling frames Xu as a principled operator with foresight, leveraging crisis-era goodwill and calculated growth to shape a perception of resilience, leadership, and ambition in a saturated market.

JPMorgan hired NOAA’s chief scientist to advise clients on navigating climate change 

(via CNBC) 

Sarah Kapnick began her career in banking but shifted to climate science, eventually becoming chief scientist at NOAA before returning to finance as JPMorgan’s global head of climate advisory. She now helps clients assess climate-related risks and opportunities, such as wildfire threats and infrastructure resilience, using scientific data to guide financial decisions. Her role reflects rising demand for climate expertise in investment strategy as environmental changes increasingly affect economic outcomes.

Brand Insights → JPMorgan’s hiring of Sarah Kapnick signals a strategic move to embed scientific credibility into its brand narrative around climate risk and sustainable finance. By bringing a former NOAA chief scientist into a leadership role, the bank aligns itself with cultural shifts toward data-driven ESG strategies and long-term resilience. This decision reframes JPMorgan as not just financially savvy, but environmentally forward-thinking, positioning the brand at the intersection of science and capital. The storytelling here is powerful: a return-from-science arc that reinforces trust, expertise, and the bank’s readiness for a climate-altered economic landscape.

OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be a ‘super assistant’ for every part of your life 

(via The Verge) 

An internal strategy document reveals OpenAI’s goal to evolve ChatGPT into a “super assistant” that acts as a personalized interface to the internet, capable of helping users across daily tasks, work, and life. The company is exploring deeper multimodal capabilities, potential hardware integration, and regulatory strategies to maintain its competitive edge. Despite infrastructure limitations and rising competition from tech giants like Google and Meta, OpenAI cites its research lead, brand strength, and rapid growth as key advantages.

Brand Insights → OpenAI’s vision to turn ChatGPT into a “super assistant” marks a bold brand evolution, from innovative tool to indispensable lifestyle companion. Strategically, it shifts the narrative from AI novelty to everyday utility, aligning with cultural desires for smarter, more integrated tech. The phrase “super assistant” frames the product as both futuristic and personal, positioning OpenAI at the center of a new human-AI interface era. By spotlighting research leadership and brand trust, OpenAI builds public confidence while subtly countering Big Tech challengers. It’s a storytelling move that blends ambition with accessibility, reshaping how the brand fits into our daily lives.

Consistency is credibility

Consistency is what turns branding from surface-level style into long-term substance. Cleverness might generate a quick spike in attention, a viral campaign, a witty post, a clever tagline, but if it doesn’t connect back to a clear, coherent identity, it fades. People may be amused, but they won’t be moved. They won’t remember what the brand stands for, because the brand hasn’t told them clearly or often enough.

Coherence isn’t about saying the same thing over and over, it’s about reinforcing the same meaning across every interaction. When the voice, visuals, and values align across platforms and moments, people start to trust the brand. It becomes familiar, reliable, and legible. And legibility matters more than novelty. If audiences are constantly trying to decode your message or guess your tone, you’ve already lost them.

In a crowded market, attention is fleeting, but trust endures. And trust is built on repetition, not reinvention. The brands people believe in are the ones they feel they know. You don’t have to be the most creative, the funniest, or the loudest. You just have to be clear. Over time, clarity becomes credibility. And credibility is what makes a brand matter.

At Projekts Workshop, we help brands find their voice, sharpen their story, and show up with purpose.

We design and run newsletter strategies that align your message, voice, and content—delivering consistent, audience-focused stories across email and social. And we build brand strategies that connect positioning, messaging, and visual identity into one cohesive, lasting story.

Whether you’re building, rebuilding, or growing, we’re here to help you do it with clarity, confidence, and consistency.