You’ve seen the cringe posts:
~ Brands trying too hard to be “cool”
~ Companies milking trends for more attention
~ People joining fights when they have zero idea what happened
Some say, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” while others facepalm like seeing a kid chasing the next shiny toy. But to me…
This is a simple problem –
A message-to-market mismatch.
If it’s the right message at the right time for the right people…
Who cares if the non-prospects feel cringy?
But if the message makes zero stand for your mission (& branding)—getting you no results—you should not be joining that conversation.
(just like DiGiorno Pizza’s tweet: “#WhyIStayed You had pizza”)
This is why one of the first things I do when onboarding a new client is to create a Brand Guide. A one-page document explaining:
* What’s the problem
* What’s your solution/mechanism
* What’s the outcome
* What’s the mission
* What do you stand for vs against
* What three words best describe your brand
* What are your prospects obsessed with
This allows you to align all your messages—from your website to emails to ads to social media—without feeling like you’re trying too hard.
Cheering for you,
Wuyen