We are just past halftime of 2022 and there is no brand leader comfortable sitting on a tie. Just like in sports, if you are ahead of plan, the key is to keep the heat on so the other team doesn’t catch up. If you are behind, the key is to turn the heat up so as to not get left behind. Either way, regardless of the actual score or plan, acceleration forward is always a good strategy.
Field of Play
The current marketing landscape is way more confusing than just an away game. Consider that our collective eyes are seeing things we’ve never seen before. A pandemic that changed our worldview, our work view and how we order things in our lives. The threat of a Word War is like out of a comic book, the cost of gas is like a punchline of a joke. In the marketing world, consumers have evolved faster than most companies, inventory is unstable, social sentiment is unpredictable, talent is at a premium and everyone is uneasy not really understanding a brand’s true, untapped potential in this new world order.
Yikes.
Like people, brands have had little control of macro things. Yet the most successful ones have have protected their growth culture by doubling down on the factors that put them in a position to win. Doing so is mission critical in the remaining months of the year, as every single dollar needed for plan requires two during the homestretch.
From our industry-wide view, brands are caught in one of two currents – one that looks inside their culture to constantly grow and one that looks outside of their culture to justify the decline. Pro-tip: The critical first step is recognizing the difference by asking the following questions of your team:
While brand leaders have lots of current resources to direct to realize the dream, often its the outsourcing to new parties and partners that creates necessary acceleration (or simple widens the view). Traction towards any goals starts with movement forward.
ROJEK Consulting has helped major brands find agencies and marketing partners that best fit their culture and their need. Risk of new resources is reduced when using real-time cultural data as a the thread to any agency sourcing and selection process. Thirty years of happy clients tells us we’re on to something.
For more information on how ROJEK can help your brand finish strong, please reach out to or Lorraine Stewart (LStewart@rojekconsulting.com) or Michael Goldberg (mg@rojekconsulting.com.)
Our goal is to help you lean in to the culture and current for growth, and always to avoid the tie.