Most brands fail becaue they never do this
Most brands fail becaue they never do this
INTRODUCTION
We live in an era of short-termism. The average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer is at its lowest level for a decade, attention spans have never been shorter and we witnessed the rise of short-form media & performance marketing obsessed with short-term sales. And in a world of short termism, long ideas have never been more important and powerful. Let me explain why.
LONG IDEAS NOT BIG IDEAS
The big idea was first coined by the adman David Ogilvy. He argues that a big idea is needed in order to grab attention and get consumers to buy. Yet whilst the definition is useful I feel it is now somewhat outdated.
“It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.” David Ogilivy
A ‘big idea’ delivers impact and lives across all a brand does, at a moment in time. A ‘long idea’, in contrast, delivers impact through time. Two brands that have done this better than most are Nike & Dove.
Nike’s Just Do It has lived for close to forty years and has guided all the brand does, from comms to product development and innovation. And whilst some may cry “Will look at Nike’s share price…dumpster fire?!”…hold your horses for a second. In truth, their recent trouble is more due to operational mistakes than brand building. In fact, there brand is still incredibly strong. Since Just Do It was first introduced in 1988 the brand’s share price has grown from 0.46C to $78.50, a 157x valuation growth. Remember when it comes to long ideas it is useful to zoom out and look at the long term.
Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ is another hugely effective long idea, that is close to twenty years old. An idea that has also guided all the brand does and has allowed it to carve out a hugely distinctive and inspiring point of view on the world. An idea that has also helped Dove reach a valuation of $5.4BN.
So clearly long Ideas are powerful….but why are they so powerful? Before I give my three reasons as to why I wanted to remind you all that the development of long ideas is one of the many brilliant topics we teach in our strategy masterclass…which is now live…
STRATEGY MASTERCLASS
Does this newsletter leave you wanting more? Do you wish you could learn the secret strategic approach behind some of the world’s most famous brands and awarded creative agencies? Well, good news. The next cohort of our Strategy Masterclass is now live. What does it include:
A six-week masterclass that will teach you how to write strategy like the best brands & creative agencies in the world.
Monthly Q&A - an opportunity to ask me directly any questions on the course or about strategy in general.
A one-off payment gives you lifetime access to all future content
Get access to over thirty exclusive tools we have developed to write great strategy, faster.
It is perfect for strategists at agencies, in-house or founders looking to nail their brand strategy…without paying an agency a fortune.
Here is what one of our lovely students recently said about us:
“Blown away by the course. It is the only one which I have done that is actually practical and useful. It goes way beyond anything else i have done”
THREE REASONS LONG IDEAS MATTER
Equity over time
Brands are built by two things - physical and mental availability. Simply you need to be easy to buy and easily come to mind. Long ideas help supercharge the latter of these two. By committing to and investing in a long-term idea, you are building on your fame and memorability year after year. If you say to someone ‘Just Do It’ they think Nike. If you say to someone ‘Real Beauty’ they think of Dove. Why? Because they have spent decades creating a long idea that makes them famous and memorable. And all of this is more important than ever in the era of short-termism & distraction.
Consistency and flexibility
Successful brands have consistent brand cues (logo, colours, tagline) but also need to be flexible and adapt to culture. Long ideas help you do this. They guide your brand over time and from above but also are not too rigid. They don’t hold you back. They don’t see your brand fail to Adapt and Die. Dove for example has adapted Real Beauty over time to take on everything from toxic social media to the rise of fake beauty of AI. And in a world where most brands change every two years, leaving people confused…long ideas give you a real advantage.
Defnesiable moat
If you want to be successful in business, let alone brand building, you need a long-term defensible moat. Long Ideas give you this. They are impossible to steal, replicate or imitate. Imagine if Adidas came out with Just Do It…
CONCLUSION
Over 6,200 people read this newsletter and 50% of you read it every week. Yet despite this, less than 1% of you have ever shared or recommended it on Linkedin. I get it we live in the era of short-termism, you're busy and distracted. So how about I sweeten the deal and give a shoutout to anyone who does to my 35,000 followers on Linkedin?
All you have to do is hit the ‘Repost with your thoughts’ button and write a one or two-sentence recommendation and tag me’@will poskett’. Thanks for doing it.