The saying is as old as the hills. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The average tenure of today’s CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is 18-22 months. One major driver is the fear of taking creative risks. Ironically, it is the problem of producing mediocrity that is the true risk.
As members of a society, our brains are hardwired to fit in, to conform. That’s why so many people dress the same way, sport the same hairstyles and are uncomfortable to be the ones that stand out in a crowd. The safety in homogeneity is all pervasive. This fear of being different seems to permeate marketing departments every day. Many clients seem to buy advertising the same way they buy clothing – gaining comfort from what their peers are doing.
And yet, ironically, as a consumer, this same human brain is programmed to filter out everything that is known, accepted and routine. The brain pays attention to things that it least expects. So, deliver the unexpected. Check this link http://on.fb.me/19Y6qHb.
If your marketing becomes habitual and conforms to the category norms, no one will notice you. If you are mimicking the same conversation as your competition, you’ll be ignored. If you change the conversation you become the story teller (read this article on how agencies & brands need to use the power of story telling in Brand Knew on http://bit.ly/NprX0t). Given today’s accent on tactical over riding the strategic or creative, little wonder the ignominy of sameness has a stranglehold on most creative communication. If you want to achieve cut-through and relevance you need an idea and execution that stands out, that is different and challenges convention.
Imagine this: clutter: hyper clutter: commoditization of products and services. Hyper commoditization of communication. Interpretation fatigue, trust deficit…heading straight towards safe therefore sorry state of affairs.
Break the shackle. Bite the bullet. Beard the lion. Become the Creative Marketing Officer(CMO) that you can be, want to be and expected to be!