Marketing That Works “Between the Ears”: Sandeep Dayal (SOM ’89) Colloquium on Marketing Leadership
Sandeep Dayal (SOM ’89), Managing Director of Cerenti Marketing Group and author of Branding Between the Ears, recently returned to Yale School of Management as part of YCCI’s Colloquium on Marketing Leadership series. Drawing on decades of advising Fortune 500 companies, Dayal offered a perspective rooted in a simple but often overlooked truth: marketing doesn’t happen in the marketplace, it happens in the mind.
From Value Proposition to Behavior Change
Dayal’s fascination with marketing began not with products, but with people, specifically, the gap between what should work and what actually does. Reflecting on the early internet boom, he pointed to companies with strong value propositions that failed to gain traction, not because the ideas were wrong, but because they expected adoption to quickly follow.
“You’re dealing with humans and there is something called behavior… and changing behavior is not easy... Behavior change takes time.”
For marketing leaders, the implication is critical: strategy alone is insufficient. Growth depends on understanding how quickly or slowly behavior can shift.
Branding as Psychology
This insight led to Dayal’s core thesis: brands are not defined by what they do, but by what they mean.
“Brand is our perception of the product… the perception is the sensations of our past experiences and future fantasies.”
He described “cognitive brands” as those that operate beyond product features, unlocking memories, emotions, and aspirations that shape choice. Rather than persuading through logic alone, effective brands align with beliefs consumers already hold. In an increasingly crowded marketplace, this shift from differentiation to perception is what enables brands to endure.
The Discipline of Staying Close to the Consumer
Despite advances in data and analytics, Dayal emphasized that the most powerful insights still come from direct human understanding.
“There is no substitute for really sitting down with a consumer of your product and having in-depth discussions with them.”
As organizations scale, leaders often lose this proximity, delegating insight to reports and intermediaries. Dayal’s message was clear: staying close to the consumer is not optional; it is foundational.
A Perspective That Resonated
Students reflected on the relevance of Dayal’s perspective across industries and career paths:
“One takeaway: setting the highest career standards matters. I found his point about aspiring toward the highest level of leadership and excellence especially memorable – not just aiming to do well, but pushing yourself toward a much bigger standard in any industry you go to.”
“His thoughts on entrepreneurship were especially useful. I appreciated his perspective on how to think about what to build, why to build it, and when it is the right time to pursue starting something of your own.”
“The value of understanding the nuances of different industries before building a career in one, his comments on focusing on growth, capital, and opportunity – across sectors like pharma, automotive, tech and telecom – reinforced that industry choice should be deliberate, especially if you want to build the right experience over time.”
YCCI extends sincere thank you to Sandeep for returning to Yale SOM and sharing a perspective that reframes marketing not as messaging or positioning, but as a deep understanding of human behavior.
Interested in a speaking opportunity at Yale SOM? Reach out to us at ycci@som.yale.edu.
