How to Become a Standout Brand

Memo to Brand Manager: It's not about you.

Many people who go into marketing end up with a goal of “doing cool shit.”

I put that in quotes because I once used that statement when interviewing for my first VP Marketing role with the CEO. (TD;LR: I didn’t get the job.) But it is a statement I have used over and over again in my career when building alignment, kicking off strategies, and building momentum for ideas.

A colleague recently walked into my office, holding the fruits of a long-project and said, “This is cool shit.” Doing cool work; innovative work, is empowering and contagious.

But it’s tough to always be doing cool work. In fact, it is nearly impossible.

I always like to come back to the OREO Daily Twist campaign from 2012. Jackie Anzaldi captured many of the images if you want to take a look. One of my favorites was the one that broke the internet when the lights went out during the Super Bowl.

OREO learned into the moment and not the past. And they let the moment and the experience lead, not the cookie.

If brands want to stand out, they need to learn forward and not backward.

Where is there a gap in the world, in the industry, in experience, that we, and only we can exploit?

I was recently in Macy’s and saw a golf polo shirt featuring The Shark logo. I made a comment to my spouse that I used to envy this brand. He asked me why.

It made me think about my life as a young professional and why this brand was envied by the likes of me. It wasn’t for any great marketing; or perhaps it was. The only reason I wanted the shirt was because Greg Norman, the real shark, endorsed it.

Now enter brands like Topgolf, Eastside Golf, Five Iron, and many others in the golf space.

It used to be Nike, Calloway, and Taylor Made. But those stories were built around the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. New brands are built around you. Making you enjoy the game, ensuring the game is accessible and fun, and making you feel at home playing the stodgy game of golf.

Brands are good to remember the simple line: It’s not about you.