Brands need to commit to the bit
We spend endless 11pm nights ordering Schnitz or Misschu and sweating kerning and typos in manifestos and god knows what else, just to change it 12 months later. WHYMST? Think of your campaign like a killer story. You don’t introduce a hero, then kill them off mid chapter. Unless you’re Shonda Rhimes. *Cries in George O'Malley*. You give them room to breathe, plot twists, time to land, and your readers a chance to fall in love before the climax. Get your minds outta the gutter.
But somehow, here’s what we seem to be doing with branding and ads. We launch a fresh narrative, new logo, tagline, platform, then yank it away when the first plot point stumbles. We ghost our own story arc before giving it a go. Firstly, let me present you with some stats for the strategist who’s either hate-reading this or revelling in it because how many new props can you write for the same audience, same product, same selling points, diff year?
Here’s the research (because feelings are great, but facts get the gals):
The Effies show that longer campaigns drive stronger business and brand results.
So maybe don’t bin your tagline just because the CMO got bored.
thinktv.com.au.Psychology backs this too. The mere-exposure effect (shmancy, I know) says the more people see something, the more they like it. Repetition isn’t annoying. It’s branding. Repetition isn’t annoying. It’s branding. Repetition isn’t annoying. It’s branding. Ok, maybe in this case, it was kind of annoying.
builtin.com.And emotional campaigns build long-term market share…IFFF you don’t cut them off mid-sentence. Let the thing land before you launch the ——-.
adnews.com.au.The ‘Where-in’ debate is wearing us out. Because there’s no such thing as ads that ‘wear out’. People don’t actually have a ‘been there, watched that’ attitude to your ad. High-frequency ads leads to high irritation, sure…but apparently if you let it sit, they push past the ick and it actually raises brand recall. Basically, let the situationship turn into a marriage FFS. (Thanks to my nerdy Art Director for this fun tidbit) https://shorturl.at/vk1sg & https://shorturl.at/ZgrHC
Here’s the twist: Iconic brands live in people’s minds because they commit to the bit, the storyline, the emotional hook and let it happen until it feels like your favourite page turner.
So here’s my unsolicited advice:
Craft your hero moment. Pick the one line, face, font, jingle, sonic branding that leaves you with a shit-eating grin.
Let the narrative breathe. Give it at least three months before you rewrite the ending. Then give it three more….. years.
Listen for the reader’s reaction. If people quote your tagline in conversation, keep at it. That’s how it stays part of culture. Not some TikTok brief client asked you to jump on because Drake’s in town.
Build on your best twist. Double down on what’s working, not what’s comfortable. And if the client isn’t comfy, hold their hand, stroke their hair and say nice KPIs.
Trust the story you’re telling. If your gut loved it on page one, please trust me as the resident flaky b*tch, don’t ditch it on draft two.
Stop flipping the channel on your own campaign. This is how the world’s greatest novelists, tv writers, and brand builders do it.
They don’t second-guess the plot halfway through. Let it live. Let it grow. Then let it stick. Because memorability isn’t this ‘oooh magic’ thing. It’s just consistency with a wee bit of charisma. So commit to the bit. The reader/audience is smarter, and more loyal (and probably hotter if you got this far) than you think.