Author, Speaker, and Architect of Loyalty by Design
Craig Wilson authored Patagonia’s five-year strategic plan in the early 00’s, shaping their path to becoming a $1B brand and establishing himself as a leading authority on loyalty and brand development.
He has spent the past two decades helping founders and iconic brands like Patagonia translate empathy into measurable business performance.
As the founder of Compass + Nail and creator of CompassIQ, he defines a new standard for evaluating how relationships — not transactions — drive profit, resilience, and brand equity. His talks and writing explore the intersection of behavioral science, brand architecture, and leadership.
Speaking Topics
The Empathy–Custody Continuum: Why relationship health predicts business health.
The Economics of Loyalty: Measuring advocacy as the ultimate driver of valuation.
From Efficiency to Empathy: Redesigning management systems for the relationship era.
The Progression of Resonance: Understanding how customers form lasting emotional bonds with brands.
Featured Writing
[The Retention Mirage (Coming Soon)]
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Personalization, Bridgestone Americas Board of Directors Meeting
Architecting Loyalty, Bridgestone Global Marketing Forum
Creating Brand Advocates, SIA Summit Series
From Brand to Cult, Built Up Festival, Built Oregon
Brand Ecosystem Training, The Nature Conservancy
Architecting Loyalty Workshop, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
From Brand to Cult, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
Measuring Loyalty, IBD Summit
How to Create Advocates, Graziadio Business Review Podcast
Architecting Loyalty , Grassroots Connect
LA Wisdom 2.0 Conference
Creating Brand Cheerleaders, NorWest Venture Partners
The Brand Ecosystem Model, Grassroots Connect
Coming to America, Diamon Retail Expansion Seminar, Stockholm, Sweden
Communicating Brand Value, Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association
Multichannel Marketing, Shop.org, National Retail Federation
Building Brand Loyalty, American Marketing Association (AMA)
Metrics that Drive Multi-channel Benefits, eTail
How to Design a Relevant Brand, L’Oreal, Global eBusiness Summit Paris, France
Take Back Your Brand, Shop.org
Word of Mouth Effect, Internet Retailer Conference
Engaging in a Site Re-Design Regardless of Critical Success, eTail
Patagonia Case Study, Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
Workshop on Merchandising for Retention, Marketing Sherpa
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Brand Equity Understood, University of Oregon
Purpose Driven Scale, USC, Marshall School of Business
Purpose Driven Loyalty, University of Oregon, Lundquist College, Center for Sustainable Business Practices
Loyalty Strategy, University of California Santa Barbara
How to Create Advocates, Graziadio Business Review Podcast
The Customer Life Cycle, Pepperdine University, Graziadio Graduate School of Business
How Loyalty Works, Pepperdine University, Graziadio Graduate School of Business
Brand Strategies as Applied to Ecommerce, University of Southern California
Strategies in Ecommerce Marketing, University of California, Santa Barbara