For years now you’ve unfairly been giving indecision the blame for mistakes. This was wrong. Go ahead and give your indecision a big hug. (Yes, right now. The blog and I will look the other way…)

Indecision is actually one of people’s greatest traits.
For you see, if humanity isn’t willing to weigh new ideas and goals against our current set, we’ll never learn to grow. Through indecisiveness we educate ourselves, find creative paths, and allow our worldview to be based purely on fact and not on arbitrary personal beliefs

Where most companies fail is fearing the free-fall of indecision and aiming immediately for consensus.
Giving up the appearance of control is too much for many sub-par leaders. An ambitious team’s ideas are neutered before they even had a chance in order to keep the company on track. These half-baked, “easy” approaches are destined for mediocrity even if applied with the highest level of skill.

Let’s live in a world where fresh ideas get equal weight and we champion individuals with the strength to embrace them.

Note: Embracing indecision does not mean to embrace inaction. Once you’ve completed weighing these facts you create a daring and detailed plan.

So-so marketing lies to your face.
It fudges the numbers and preaches tall-tales. It hungers to buy the adspace around us. It invites us to hope for a better tomorrow and trust that our problems will be solved. When we unwrap the packaging and see the truth we know we’ve been betrayed.

Good marketing lies behind your back.
It never promises the world, and instead uses hired help to guide your hand. Here you see paid actors, athletes, or esteemed CEOs speaking a corporate message. We’re invited to trust in an individual’s endorsement. When we unwrap the packaging and see the truth we know we’ve been sold out.

Exceptional marketing doesn’t need to lie.
It is honest. It is clear. It is inspiring. When we get home we find that it is better then we’d hoped, and we learn to trust.

Marketing is the art of cultivating trust.
For every lie you tell, imagine you lose ten customers. For a small business a lie would be deadly, and so we find successful small businesses cultivate honesty. In large businesses the consumer can be so far removed from marketing that honesty is not always required. Lying is seen as a necessary evil. In many cases exaggerating benefits is encouraged.

The “One Rule of Exceptional Marketing” Test.

1. Are there more potential customers in your sales team ’s pipeline then being referred by your existing customers?
2. Was the website traffic from paid advertising greater then your organic search traffic last year?
3. Does your company avoid using its own product/service?

If you’ve answered “Yes” to any of the above you’re seeing the clear gap between your marketing and reality. But the truly scary thought is: your customers see this view each day.

Have you ever walked into a building for the first time and fumbled while trying to enter?
Maybe you pushed when you should’ve pulled and the people around you all politely stare. You’re a smart person with a degree and a fancy job, who knew you’re downfall would be an office door?

Well, I’m here to blame the door.

You see most office doors are so badly engineered they trick us into using them wrong. For example:

• A bar that you are required to pull
• A handle that you’re required to push
• Glass doors with handles on both sides with no sign whether to push or pull
• Door handles on automatic doors

It so human to blame ourselves when it feels like we’ve failed. But design plays a bigger part then we’d hope to believe. We see it each day from our wacky bathroom sinks to the rollout of our biggest brand campaigns. The line has been crossed though. It is no longer good enough to be unclear. If a consumer doesn’t understand something, of any size or shape, it your job to make it easily understandable. Simplicity always wins.

A system that communicates information clearly in little time is elegant design. Now can you imagine how many doors that might open?

Even though we’re artists by trade, we hate seeing people waste their time and money. The easiest way to do this is by moving forward on a rebranding project when you aren’t ready.

Here are five reasons that simply aren’t good enough for a rebrand:

1. DON’T REBRAND BECAUSE: It is a new year!
Bust out the champaign because it is rebranding time. The old collateral? We can keep the content, but let’s redesign everything, alright? This old-school approach to content creation is dead, whether or not your manager knows it yet. Take the time needed to investigate, plan, and execute a show-stopping campaign even if it doesn’t fit nicely on a calendar.

2. DON’T REBRAND BECAUSE: The CEO asked you to.
I think we’ve all been here before: Your CEO loves the color green. And so, the company decrees that green, on green, with green highlights is the new color scheme. We all may not have the chance to tell him no, but we can build a better case for why not. Unless your company is selling to CEOs, the odds are there are better people to poll. Do a bit of research, come back with some clear statistics, and make your case. As a marketer it is your job to the right thing even if it is an uphill battle.

3. DON’T REBRAND BECAUSE: You need to validate marketing’s existence.
You have a marketing team for a reason. Their job should be to create a never-ending stream of content, right? Wrong. Sometimes a new brochure isn’t the cure to a bad sales outlook. In many cases marketing would be better off taking a break from constant production. Go to sales and ask them what works in their eyes. A few months of targeted evidence can reinvigorate a swamped in-house team.

4. DON’T REBRAND BECAUSE: An industry trend needs to be included.
Web 2.0 created many design memes and in the wake a torrent of new business were born covered in cliched design. Following a trend can be a benefit by showing you are awake in a sleeping industry, but it can easily look outdated just as quickly. So when Web 3.0 rolls around try and always keep in mind “Will this look current in five years?”.

5. DON’T REBRAND BECAUSE: You feel the sole reason you’re doing badly is your brand.
Consider this an intervention – it isn’t just your brand. Look and feel sets initial customer expectations, but a business will need a wonderful product or service to survive. You should first focus on building relationships where everyone feels validated by a great output, and a compelling brand will follow.

The best brands use their visual identity to reflect their core values. When you waste your time and energy overhauling your collateral on a whim it shows a lack of understanding what these are. Stay focused. Stay Hungry. Stay Unstoppable.

1. It looks exactly like the competition.
Do you have a blue website? Is it a Sans-serif logo? Do you have cheesy stock images (like the above) instead of real people? Does your CEO keep asking to copy your competition? Your company is unique, so let’s make sure your brand unique too.

2. It is unprofessional.
Many businesses leave branding on the bottom of their to-do lists. The thinking is that it allows a new business to get up and running while dodging the initial design costs. Because this is so common though, there are too many companies with afterthought brands. Take the time to improve your look and imagine all of the potential customers who will give you a second-chance.

3. It is unclear what you do.
Don’t laugh – you’d be shocked how businesses seem to strive to be unknown. A brand does more then look pretty, it should tell others what you do and why. Blank brands are missed opportunities.

4. It looks outdated.
People are fickle. We respond very well to what is new. A brand can tell us how busy a company is, and from this information we infer greater successful. A tired brand gives customers the impression business isn’t good and this only means your product/service isn’t up to par in their minds.

5. It doesn’t inspire.
The best brands defy convention and build excitement. It is important for your customers to feel something when they learn more. And the inspiration doesn’t end externally – your employees need a place they can believe in. When they pull out their business card, don’t you want them to have the comfort of a brand they can stand behind?

If you liked this, don’t miss 5 Reasons NOT to Update Your Brand.

At this very moment people are excitedly voting. Young and old are sampling the available candidates, looking for a true standout, and then they’re ready to make cast their ballot. The most diehard of the group head online to insult the opposing party in heated debate. Hope is in the air…

But this time it is for neon carbonated soda. Yes, Mountain Dew is holding an election which they call DEWmocracy.

Here is a guess of what these DEWmocracy candidates went through before they hit your stomach:

1. DEWmocracy allows users to vote create their own flavor, look, and brand of Mountain Dew.
2. Ten new flavors of Mountain Dew are created in a tasting lab based on these votes.
   
3. These ten flavors are tested in a focus group. Five survive.
4. The feedback tells the lab to modify the formulas of all products.
5. These five flavors are sent back into a focus group where we have three top choices.
6. The top three choices are modified once again by tester feedback.
7. These three flavors are branded and hit the store shelves.
8. People vote with their wallets and one survives.

And yet, after all of this hard work , the DEWmocracy drinks are beyond horrible. How could this be?

Everything you eat or drink or watch has been through a similar process, possibly hundreds of times. Focus groups within focus groups within focus groups. If this system worked as claimed everything we touch would be better for it. Each movie you watched would be better then the last. Each meal would be an improvement based on cold hard data. But this is clearly not the case.

The truth is, focus groups are perfect at creating consumables for the masses. Not too spicy, not too bland – right down the middle. Made for people who are afraid to taste anything but the familiar repackaged. And since this is a large market, this appears to validate the process.

But never forget – masterpieces are made when creations speak with pinpoint accuracy to the hopes and needs of a few like minds.

1. Robots need not apply.
   You’re human. Share the joys, benefits, or frustrations that make your product/service so worthwhile. Good writers always show a human aspect, which adds depth to their arguments.
   

2. Goals? Nope, goal.
   Assume your marketing project can only have one result. Then take this goal and make it 99% of your emphasis. At best, multiple goals create room for procrastination or at worst can cause your writing to be murky and scattered.
   

3. Bland copy is bad copy.
   You are writing for a purpose. If what you write doesn’t elicit an emotional response then you have completely failed.
   

4. What is the consumer benefit?
   New clients don’t need to read your entire business plan. Respect your customer’s time by speaking to their needs and not your CEO’s.
   

5. Features aren’t benefits.
   Instead of explaining why GPS is a technical marvel, you’re better off explaining how useful this will be on their next business trip.
   

6. Everyone reads the headline.
   Only a few folks will read this description. Make your headlines your compass on which your design and content rest.
   

7. Sorry, shorter is better.
   Tight copy keeps your point focused and your readers wanting more.
   

8. Everyone else could be wrong.
   Marketing is the act of differentiation. If your goal is to look and sound like your competitors, then continue stealing from them. If instead it is to be unique, then write copy that shines bolder and brighter then the rest.
   

9. Write for 8th grade.
   Your customers are all PhDs in time travel in my book, but clear copy is able to be read by all degrees. In fact, this focus doesn’t dilute your argument – it enhances it.
   

10. There is no one right way.
    No seminar, checklist, or MBA methodology is the holy grail of business writing. Your situation is unique and should be treated this way. Industries can change in moments and the greatest marketers adapt by keeping their customer in mind at all times.
    

11. Bonus Tip: When copy and creative melt together you have a success.
    Most creative collateral is built by two separate teams, a writing focused group and a design focused group. Both sides believe their duties to be more important.
    

    Good collateral is the merger of a touching design and text that enhances this same concept. Compromises need to be made by both sides for it to work well, which is why engaging creative is so rare.