In class this week, Chris Maddock said, “Marketing ideas that aren’t true to the core beliefs have killed way more companies than bad ideas in the operations department.”

He followed with, “There’s nothing more dangerous to a well-established marketing campaign for a leading brand than the idea that new is better. For proof, see almost every “rebrand” ever done by an established company.”

So why do so many companies keep chasing the “Newest Greatest Marketing Campaign Ever”?

Most companies don’t know who they are. They don’t take the time to figure it out. They’re not entirely sure what they have to say, and why it matters. Smaller companies talk endlessly about their services, their lowered fees, and their discounts. Larger brands spend ungodly amounts of money on flash and bang to gain attention and make a splash in the mind waters.

When your brand has no identity, it doesn’t make a huge difference what campaign you launch next. Feel free to follow the next shiny object. Chase the new app. Create profiles on the new social media sites. Hire the famous movie star. Work with that famous director.

It’s a very different story for you. You’ve figured out who you are, what you do, and why it matters. You’ve taken the time to define your identity and spent years carving your name into the mindscape. Your messages land. Your brand is trusted and connected. Maybe even loved.

Then something changes. You get bigger and feel the need to do things with your company that make you “legitimate”. You may attempt to follow the playbook of the Fortune 500, hoping you’ll be one of them. You sell to private equity or hand off leadership to a new team of people, hoping they’ll take you to the next level.

This is the moment that the NEW BIG IDEAS show up at your doorstep. Almost immediately, they open up their playbook of “How to run professional campaigns” and start dismantling everything you’ve spent years building. They have to. If they simply come and say, “You’re doing great, let’s keep doing what you’re doing,” how do they justify their paycheck?

They don’t understand identity building. They don’t understand “Win the heart and the mind will follow.” They understand shiny things and expensive production budgets. They can’t help but play it safe. And they do that by spending money instead of time. But they spend the money on things that don’t matter.

It takes years to turn your company into a trusted source. It takes way less time to destroy all progress and grind your name into oblivion.

Be careful of anyone you bring into the room who doesn’t understand this dynamic.

Sometimes we need a refresh. Sometimes we need to be brought back to the big picture when we lose our way, daily weeding in the garden. 

Don’t bring in people trying to sell you the New Shiny Thing. Bring in people who remind you who you are. Bring in the people who spend all their time and energy helping you carry your message to the world.

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