Escape The Land Of Bland
As lead singer James Hetfield of Metallica fame is often fond of saying, “Without the Message, Nothing Else Matters.”
If you’re in it for the long haul, only one thing truly matters for your marketing to be effective.
The strength of your Message.
Not your choice of media or platform.
Not carefully selected demographics of your target audience.
Our study of more than 7,500 websites reveals at least one irrefutable truth over the past decade. There is no shortage of lofty platitudes and unsubstantiated claims plastered on home pages everywhere that say pretty much the same thing. Study at least three of your competitors and discover what everyone from ABC to XYZ Company claims to be:
Flexible, Scalable, Cutting-edge, Leading-edge and Best-of-class. Ground-breaking, Industry-leading, Innovative, Diverse, Multi-Disciplinary and Disruption-proof! We are so much more than just solution providers. We are trusted, passionate, responsible, collaborative and honest people who strive to ensure all of our clients and stakeholders are satisfied with the outcomes.
Mission-statement bromides are the surest way to toss your organization into marketing purgatory with a one-way ticket to the vanilla-flavoured Land of Bland. It’s where you get lost and disappear in the mosh pit of hundreds of other competitors who are also content with being safe and predictable. It doesn’t require much creative effort to churn out empty words and visuals that are sanitized, homogenized, generic & formulaic. You’ll never get laughed at, second-guessed, criticized, or ticketed by the PC police.
But you’ll never get to ride the lightning either.
Never reap the benefits that come from the most potent form of advertising ever known to humanity.
Word-of-Mouth.
A real-life example of this occurred just last week when a reader reached out and offered a heads up on a brand worth watching for their Message.
Hi Gair,
I hope you don’t mind, as I wanted to share this company that I follow on Instagram not because of their product but because of their messaging. They just came out with a new video that doesn’t even talk about what they sell, which resonates with me. This new video is super powerful for women and sends a great message. Also, super cool that they are Canadian-owned and have great products. I immediately thought of Big Little Legends and a great reminder to tell a story.
Cheers,
Alissa
As you would expect, Alissa has also shared the video and story of KNIX with dozens of her co-workers, who are now spreading the word all over various social media platforms. Thanks to the strength of their Big Strong Message, KNIX is attracting an increasing amount of curiosity, and attention as more and more people seek them out, learn their story and discover their products.
Marketing bureaucrats obsessed with stats, data and analytics have no way of measuring the most vital statistic of all.
How deep does your message land in a person’s heart and soul?
Are they moved, touched, shaken, and stirred? Does your Message possess any power to move even one human mountain, let alone hundreds or thousands? Or is it swimming aimlessly in the sea of sameness? Is it drowning in the dishwater of indifference?
If your choice of words, visuals and brand strategy can be easily copied, applied, and implemented by other companies in your category, it’s a limp strategy. It’s like waving the white flag, tapping out and deciding to remain in the Land of Bland. But, when your Brand Message is bang on and blisteringly relevant, it amplifies you with clarity and confidence. You feel like a metaphorical Marshall stack with 50,000 watts of conviction that your marketing efforts are on the right track.
With electrifying precision, anyone in any town – regardless of industry or category - can skilfully frame a Message and brand strategy in such a manner that not a single competitor would ever dream of doing.
The more compelling your Message, the more word-of-mouth Attention you attract.
Attention = Currency.
Like a flowing river, money follows Attention.
Without a clearly defined Message … Nothing Else Matters.
No sure-fire formula exists that will ever guarantee marketing success, but the surest well-worn path to failure is not having a well-crafted crafted strategy with a strong Message lighting the way.
The only way to avoid being relegated to the Land of Bland.
“What's the message in Metallica? There is no message, but if there was a message, it really should be looking within yourself, don't listen to me, don't listen to James, don't listen to anybody, look within yourself for the answers.” LARS ULRICH.
You Don’t Need a Massive Marketing Budget
Developing a strong brand Message does not necessarily demand big-budget production and a massive marketing budget. The essential ingredients required are courage, creativity, and imagination. A great example of this approach began when a former Canadian infantry officer turned tailor opened a small, made-to-measure shop in 2016, declaring it “Home of the World’s Most Dangerous Dress Shirt”! Jeff Alpaugh Custom now has two locations, serving customers in more than 50 countries built on a belief that the best clothes represent the ultimate self-expression self-confidence and make for great conversation starters.
BIG LITTLE LEGENDS. Published in November of 2021 through Vancouver-based Page Two Publishing, this national best-seller has sparked a groundswell of support from Real Readers just like you. As it continues to gain traction, the book is now available through Wal-Mart.
“Heroes get remembered. Legends never die.” BABE RUTH
YOUR BRAND. ON TRACK.
If now is the opportune time to discover the brand story and strategy uniquely your own, consider exploring a metaphorical road trip called THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Our Executive Bootcamps serve as a journey and destination to help your brand emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One.” Along the way, you will discover how to create substantial Differentiation and strategic Relevance for your brand while aligning your executive team. Impossible to describe, it helps to take a quick peek at this Video Overview:
“The most important victory is the one which has to arrive” ENZO FERRARI
PLANNING A SPEAKING EVENT?
The wheels of business turn faster each quarter, and your company or industry association may be anxious to stay ahead of the lighting-fast relevance curve. In that respect, we are scheduling many in-person and virtual programs for 2022 with customized content designed to inspire conference attendees to acquire a “STADIUM-SIZED PERSPECTIVE.”
For more information on scheduling an In-Person or Virtual Speaking Program, please send us a note here: bookings@gairmaxwell.com.
Every week, someone asks a question about our videos and our media partner responsible for the storyboarding, production, and editing. Headquartered in the shadows of the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Defiant Astronaut Media is uniquely positioned to help business leaders rethink what's possible with this art form. How you can Sell a Purpose. Not a Product.
Get updates and; connect on LINKED IN or visit www.gairmaxwell.com.
“We do this basically for ourselves. People appreciate it, which is cool, but I think they appreciate that we're doing it for ourselves. We're doing it our way, and how people like it is not up to us” JAMES HETFIELD.