Here’s a little something Woodbine’s former intern, Nick Sotolongo, wrote for the blog before he headed to to Argentina for a second ESL tour. Some good topline thoughts here about the need to think big.
One night while eating dinner, a friend told Christopher Columbus that discovering the Americas was not really such an awesome feat, and that someone else would have done it anyway. Columbus was, understandably, a little peeved and, looking around the table, challenged everyone to try and make an egg stand up on its tip. After they each failed and deemed the task impossible, Columbus crushed the tip of the egg flat and effortlessly stood it up on the table. Everyone immediately protested that they could have done the same thing. With this, Columbus’ point was made.
The world’s biggest ideas are obvious and safe after the fact, but at their time of conception were considered risky, expensive, fraught with danger, unattainable, and on and on. Great advertising campaigns are generally the same way. They’re based on revolutionary ideas that, at the time, were considered unsafe because they were so different.
Brands that reach iconic status get there on the backs of big, courageous ideas. Even though the monumental successes of these ideas seem obvious today, many of them barely survived the boardroom.
Risk taking is a necessary part of succeeding. No guts, no glory. If you’re trying to revitalize your brand, this is a crucial lesson. Depending on your category, you may need a big idea to get through to the consumer. Someone at the top of the organization needs to champion that idea so it can see the light of day, and then everyone at the company needs to buy into the idea, and the execution. Only then can the big idea become the element that will ultimately transform your business.
| Brand Revitalization 9.5*
nine-and-a-half principles for revitalizing your brand |
| Principle #1: | Revitalization begins with them |
| Principle #2: | Make the brand stand for something bigger |
| Principle #3: | Even the most functional purchases are driven by emotion |
| Principle #4: | Get your own house in order before taking the show on the road |
| Principle #5: | Revitalization is the art of sacrifice |
| Principle #6: | Reach people in new, unexpected ways to break down barriers |
| Principle #7: | Be transparent, let them see the real you |
| Principle #8: | There is no such thing as a big, yet safe idea |
| Principle #9: | Give it continuous fuel and energy, more than just a jump start |
| Principle #9.5: | The learning and experimenting should never end |
