A few years ago you could walk into an agency meeting, the kind where ad men sat around in black polo shirts, and the focus would be on the “big idea“. What is the “big idea” for this product?
BIG was a good word. BIG stories meant BIG publicity meant BIG budgets. No brand ever wanted to be the small brand, thinking about the smaller picture or go short on their advertising.
BIG today, however, counts for very little in the eyes of young customers. They’re more passionate about Monster Energy drinks than Pepsi, even though Monster accounts for less than 1% of Pepsi’s global sales.
So the question is, are you telling a story about the bigger or the smaller picture? Is your narrative about the brand or the customer?
Unfortunately, we know we need to change but most of us are scared. Most marketers would rather hear the convenient lie than the inconvenient truth because it’s a whole lot easier to swallow.
Think about the rise of popular brands – Threadless, Zappos, Jones, Red Bull, Jet Blue and how they’ve tried to make the narrative about their customers not their own egos.
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