The Magic Brief — About Floris
From Disney fan to marketing strategist to your weekly brand lesson.
25 years in marketing. One obsession: understanding why great brands work — and bringing that back to the people building them.
Most marketers got better at doing marketing. And worse at understanding why it works.
The moment I said “have you seen how Disney did this?” to a client, something clicked. The same principle that sounded abstract seconds before suddenly made complete sense.
The brands we love aren’t just case studies. They’re a shared language. Disney, LEGO, Apple, Nike — we already have an emotional connection to them. That connection is the entry point to the lesson.
Walt Disney walked through his parks and watched people. He built things based on a genuine understanding of human behaviour — and the frameworks arrived later to explain why he was right. Today, most marketing decisions are made behind a screen, without ever talking to the people you’re trying to reach.
That’s what I want to change.
I’m Floris — a marketing strategist who also teaches improvisation theatre. Those two aren’t as different as they sound. In improv, you read a room, respond to what’s actually happening, and build something real in the moment. Marketing, at its best, works exactly the same way.
I’ve spent 25 years in this industry. My favourite film is still Toy Story. And what I’ve always loved about Disney isn’t the parks or the films — it’s the thinking behind them.
Every Wednesday, I send one brand, one sharp lesson, one thing you can actually use — through the lens of the brands you already love.
THE MISSION
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow. I think Walt was right about that.
FEATURED BRIEFS
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The Weenie
Welcome to Edition #1 of The Magic Brief. We start where all great experiences start: with the question of how you get people to move. Walt Disney had a hot dog. He turned it into the most powerful design principle in the world . Before UX was a discipline, Walt…
THE SYSTEMS GREAT BRANDS USE