Writing
The editorial library.
Essays, reference articles, and Field Notes from Binary Glyph on brand, marketing systems, and the work of building businesses that compound. Written by Steve Ice, principal.
Long-form arguments for the practice’s positions. New essays are infrequent and intentional.
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The marketing that AI cannot replace, and the marketing it already has.
A significant portion of marketing work has already been replaced by AI. What remains — judgment, synthesis, the willingness to refuse — is what clients are actually paying for. An essay on how to tell the difference and why it is becoming impossible to ignore.
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Cheap marketing costs more.
The cheapest option is rarely the cheapest option. The real cost shows up in the eighteen months after the invoice is paid — in the work that has to be redone, the trust that has to be rebuilt, the momentum that never materializes.
Substantive answers to the questions buyers ask before they hire. Each one is built to stand as the canonical reference on its question.
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Marketing vs. advertising
Advertising is one paid channel inside marketing, the larger discipline. Businesses that conflate them fund the rented channel and never build the assets they own. A reference guide to the difference, the cost each carries, and which to fund first.
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How much should a small business spend on marketing?
A reference guide to the 7–12% benchmark, how to allocate it across channels, and how to recognize the threshold where marketing investment begins to compound. The honest version of the budget conversation, written for established small businesses weighing what to spend.
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Digital marketing vs. marketing automation
One is a discipline. The other is a tool that serves the discipline. Businesses that confuse the two buy platforms they cannot use or hire strategists when they needed execution. A reference guide to the difference and how to diagnose which problem you actually have.
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Should your logo match your business name?
No, but it depends on what your name is and what job the logo needs to do. A reference guide to wordmarks, symbols, combination marks, and how to choose the right approach for where the business is going.
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Do you have to include LLC in a logo?
No. The legal designation belongs in the registered business name and formal documents — not in the graphic mark. A reference guide to the requirements, the design constraints, and when the designation actually does belong in the logo.
Short answers to specific questions, from the principal. The full library lives at Field Notes.
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What does a marketing consultant do?
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What is integrated media?
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What is a fractional CMO?
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What is a B2B marketing strategy framework?
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What is a content marketing audit?
See the full library at Field Notes →
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