We get so focused on doing things right that we can forget the why. Armed with ten-dollar marketing words and overcooked strategies, it can feel like a Sisyphean feat to get your brand to become what you know it could be. You aim for the trophy, you miss the target. But you gotta hit the target to get the trophy.
Every brand can start to slip into the known path — it feels too easy — and habits are as hard to break as they are to form. It’s also remarkably human. Even when the rewards are disproportionately large, we struggle to break from what feels comfortable. And a lot of the time it’s because we don’t know what else to do. We can’t see the rest of the places we could go if we keep exiting right before. But in the end, lack of risk leaves money on the table for your brand.
Any brand can be an adventurous brand, if you adopt the mindset. Note, we say “adventurous brands” and not “adventure brands.” An adventure brand is typically a brand that serves the outdoors — we love these brands, and they formed the early foundation of our agency. What a lot of adventure brands do well is act adventurously. They take risks, create new categories, and build the type of brand loyalty that make people get logos tattooed on their bodies.
Every brand can stand to be a little more adventurous. We define an adventurous brand as any brand that’s willing to break up with monotony in the name of growth. They have a clear purpose, and they harness that purpose into unexpected action for people. We work with adventurous brands to give them the research and strategy to back up their pipedreams, the creative to build an emotional connection, and the execution to put it in the world in ways no one’s dared do before.
1. PLACE BETS WORTH WINNING
Placing a bet starts with trusting in your knowledge of the past. For us, this means trusting in data to carve a pathway for the future. It won’t lay out an exact formula for success that you can prove with absolute certainty. But a great strategy will be rooted in enough research that the opportunity feels like a risk you can’t afford to lose.
2. ONLY KEEP THE BEST OF THE BEST (PRACTICES)
Yes, they’re called best practices for a reason. But every brand is different and every business has unique needs that require bespoke approaches. Learn the playbook and give it a whirl, but if it’s not working go rogue, and do the opposite. Pay attention to your people — your internal team and your audience. They’ll tell you what they need. All you have to do is listen.
3. SEEK OUT NEW AUDIENCES
Staying close to your core is critical for keeping up loyalty, no doubt. But what happens when you run out of loyalists? If you’re only talking to the same niche, you’ll never unlock new growth for your brand or for your category. Serendipity is a powerful thing. Find the uniting mindset that both keeps your core close and reflects the values of new audiences you want to bring in. With a little digging, you’ll uncover a universal truth that helps everyone see themselves in your brand.
4. TAKE CREATIVE RISKS
Get comfortable seeing something you’ve never seen before. Ideas are a type of art, and like art, they can invite strong reactions when they’re brand new. Sit with them and try them on. It’s easier to dial creative closer to the center than it is to try to pull it out further.
5. DO MORE, SAY LESS
Less talk, more action. We can fuss over headlines all day long (and we do). But it doesn’t matter unless someone actually sees it. And to make sure people listen to what you have to say, it takes brand action. A movement in the world that people can’t help but pay attention to. Be it a stunt, an activation, an act of goodwill, an initiative, or an experience, doing cool shit is always better than talking about it.
6. LOVE YOUR BRAND
Adventurous brands seek out new ways of being because they love what they can bring to people: new experiences, new connections, new communities, and new things to enhance their lives. If you don’t love your brand, neither will the rest of the world.
An adventurous brand is one that considers the Best Practices Playbook a suggestion, not a mandate.
An adventurous brand knows that data reveals the past so strategy can predict the future.
An adventurous brand is one that considers inspiration fuel for action instead of just food for thought.
But most of all: An adventurous brand knows that upside is rarely incremental and it requires taking a creative leap.
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