NO ONE CARES - EMBRACE IT
I have been in the brand-building game, for over 17 years. Yet despite all that has changed in the world. Despite all the rapid progress in technology & shifts in culture.
I still see brand builders make the same mistake...time & time again.
Was it?
They assume people care about their brand.
Now before some of you stop reading in outrage let me explain myself and offer up a little more nuance. People may like or even enjoy your brand but in the greater scheme of things it ranks fairly low down, in their list of priorities. At the end of the day, there are far greater concerns (ie paying the mortgage or looking after the kids) in their daily lives. Now of course there may be outliers to this truth. Brands such as Supreme or Nintendo operate in high-interest categories such as fashion & entertainment, for example. Yet even here we should tread with caution because it is unrealistic to think that even the most ardent of fans think about said brands every waking moment of their day.
Still reading? I appreciate your willingness to be challenged. Yet you may be asking yourself, so what know? Is there even any point in brand building if consumers care so very little about them? Well, the irony is, that accepting the truth that people don’t care, will actually empower you to build a more effective brand. Embracing a reality where consumers don’t care will help you unlock a competitive advantage that 99% of brands fail to fully realize. Why is this the case? Let me explain myself.
Once you realise that people don’t care. Once you realise people are distracted and busy. It creates a shift in your thinking. You realise that your biggest threat to growth isn’t ‘being loved, it is not being noticed in the first place. Now that’s not to say you don’t need to build a product that provides value and which people will want. However wrapped around said product, should be a brand that aims for one thing above all else…FAME.
Fame is proven to be the biggest driver of brand growth
Some of the fastest-growing brands of our time have understood and mastered this point. Brands such as Liquid Death, Oatly & AirBnB. Both have a really clear point of view on the world and are not afraid to stand by it…even if it rubs some people up the wrong way. A point of view that may provoke some but will always stand out, get people talking and ultimately get the brand remembered.
Yet if what I say is true, why do so many brands fail to favour fame and default to not offending? Well, whilst there are many reasons the three below are perhaps the most common & dangerous.
POLITICS
One of the greatest threats to building effective brands is, sadly, office politics. So many great brands have had their sharpness, blunted, by power structures that seek to appease and never offend. And look I get it, in times of economic uncertainty, people are worried for their jobs and don’t want to put their necks on the line. They don’t want to ‘take a risk’ and it feels far safer, to play it safe. Yet the irony is playing it safe, as we now know, is the most dangerous thing to do when it comes to brand building.
VANITY
One of the highlights of setting up my own studio has been working with a wide variety of brilliant founders. Those pushing forward to build something better in the world. Yet despite their brilliance, I see many of them make the same mistake over & over again. They believe that people will love their products, with the same level of intensity, that they do. And I look I get it. If you spend years obsessing over your product and building something, it can blindside you. Yet you need to remember that, on the whole, people do not care. Your job as a founder is not to get people to love your brand, it’s to get your brand noticed in the first place.
TESTING
Clearly, I have an agenda. I run my own studio and it is in my interest to help our clients build famous brands that in turn unlock exponential growth. It’s in my interest to do this because if my clients’ brands become famous and grow, my own company will in turn become famous and grow. However, want to know who else has an agenda?… research companies. It’s in their best interest to get clients to do as much research as possible, I mean it’s literally their business model. Don’t get me wrong, whilst research can be useful…it must be treated with caution. Too much research, or research done at the wrong time, can erode fame effects. Why? Well, it goes back to my earlier point. People rarely, if ever, think about brands and therefore creating an environment where people are forced to analyse them in immense detail, is totally artificial. Furthermore, it threatens the ability to build a bold and fame-worthy brand. Why? Well as research guides you to tweak your brand, to appease everyone, too often the edges become rounded off and fame effects are diluted.
CONCLUSION
The very reason I founded Defiant was a realisation. A realisation that despite knowing that fame is the biggest driver of growth, very few brands ever achieve it. And it’s why my partners & I have built a company that looks to eliminate the enemies of fame, by creating a studio that operates in a different way. One free from nonsense, waste and ego. If you’d like to know more about our unique approach, click here.
Best of all? It seems to be resonating with brands. Over the last few months, we have won three pitches against bigger (yet more ineffective) agencies. It is also an approach that seems to resonate with our clients too. Sound interesting? Drop an email to will@hellodefiant.com
