“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
If you asked a group of NBA fans who their favorite player is, not many would say Tim Duncan. “The Big Fundamental” doesn’t exactly draw people in with his style of play. Similarly, if you asked members of your team what their favorite part of marketing is, you probably wouldn’t get a lot of “writing positioning statements” as answers. Neither Tim Duncan nor positioning statements are sexy. I get it. But all they do is win.
For the same reasons every Cowboys fan wanted their team to pick the dynamic, if not polarizing, Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft instead of the more practical, Zach Martin, an offensive lineman out of Notre Dame, every young marketer wants to come up with the next big idea instead of doing their diligence in developing a strong positioning strategy first. Manziel is more fun to watch and ideation is more fun to work on.
Two years later, Zach Martin is a two time NFL All-Pro, while Johnny Manziel is currently unemployed. Oh, and did I mention that Tim Duncan has won five NBA titles?
The fundamentals aren’t sexy, but they work.
If I sound frustrated, I am. But, I’m also worried. Much like how NBA experts are concerned about “the Steph Curry Effect.” The idea that every young basketball player is going to grow up shooting near-half court threes instead of working on the basics; similarly, I worry every young marketer is going to graduate with their sights set on orchestrating the next Ellen DeGeneres “Oscars selfie.”
We work in sports. We’re often selling our products to young adults and sexy sells. Like I said, I get it. But I don’t like it.
Where’s all this angst coming from? Personal experience. Too often I’ve been asked how I would “disrupt” an event or invited to a brainstorm on how to activate against a new product launch, without any mention of a brand positioning statement. How can I suggest how one would arrive at a given location, if that person doesn’t even know where they want to go? I can’t. No one can.
The brands I’ve worked on haven’t found success because of one or two “silver bullet” moments. They’ve been successful because of hundreds of little wins that have added up to and fed into a distinct brand story. A five-year plan isn’t sexy. But a five-year plan works.
Stop shooting half-court shots and start working on your (big) fundamentals.
“I Have An Idea…” is a series written for College AD by the author of Brands Win Championships, Jeremy Darlow.
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