What does bravery look like in today’s marketing?

Bravery means different things to different people. And in today’s uber-competitive business landscape, brave marketing is becoming essential in breaking the status quo and differentiating more effectively to buyers.

A recent global survey of 200 B2B marketers has highlighted the need to challenge decisions as the most important aspect of being brave. We all know saying ‘no’ can cause conflict, but saying ‘yes’ can often set you on a course that appeases a senior exec in the short term, but delivers a high profile failure further down the road. 

Marketers find stakeholder requests that are either; urgent, damaging to internal relationships, detrimental to personal reputation or deemed business critical the hardest to say no to. But it isn’t just about saying no. It’s about suggesting an alternative where everyone wins. After all, who’s going to take the blame when doing the same old thing gets the same old results?

Bravery in marketing is not about confrontation, it’s about imagination. If you can articulate your passion and ideas in a way that the rest of the business understands, you have the opportunity to embed bravery into the business to the benefit of the bottom line.

Example – 84 Lumber

US building merchant 84 Lumber created a storm with its challenging TV advert for this year’s Super Bowl. The Ad was initially rejected by Fox for being too political. It depicts a Mexican mother and daughter trying to get past a huge wall to seek work in the US. But a 90-second teaser version aired that encouraged viewers to go to 84lumber.com to watch the full video.

Their bravery was duly rewarded. Within one minute of commercial airing, the YouTube version had 300,000 views and now has more than 11 million on YouTube. Plus, the courage to tackle a huge political issue add a thick layer of publicity as 84 Lumber denied supporting illegal immigration. Kudos 84 Lumber!

Top tip: Pilot projects

Diving in the deep end might be a bit too gung-ho. So, use a pilot to dip your toe in the water. By positioning an idea as a pilot internally you negate the formality of a full-blown campaign, but at the same time you can still reap the rewards of success. If a brave pilot works then it can be scaled with confidence – plus any minor flaws can be ironed out.

How brave a marketer are you, compared to your peers? Download the Braver Business report now to find out.

By Octopus Group. Follow them @octopusgrp