Brand Explorers 🌍

This week, we look outside of the ‘outdoors’ for a healthy dose of inspiration on what makes a great idea.

Inspired by this tweet (or X 🤷🏻‍♂️):

For such a short statement:

…It’s a big conversation starter.

I don’t know about you, but I think Brian has a point. 

Let me explain.

Marketing has become overly analytical:

→ Plans and strategies solely built on data.
→ Optimised media spend to drive performance.
→ Tactical moves to block the competition.

And these approaches might keep pumping buyers into your business.

But do they build your brand or help you win with new audiences? Am I right?

See, ‘good taste’ in marketing is all about ‘creativity’ 🎨.

It’s the marketing art of spotting a great idea that will work, and then sharing in its vision to execute it.

The problem I see, my outdoorsy friends, is:

‘Too much marketing is devoid of a real idea.’

This content model is simply often stuff disguised as “storytelling” to ride the algorithm.

→ That film of an athlete reaching the top of a mountain is lovely. But where’s the idea that’s unique to your brand?

→ Those product stories on Instagram look nice. But what’s the concept that might connect with a new audience?

Thankfully, it doesn’t need to be like this.

The best creative agency folk and the marketeers with impeccable taste, put their taste to the test every day with one simple question:

“What’s the idea?”

Put simply, ideas really are the lifeblood of your brand building.

When everyone else is using the same analytical tools, the only real advantage you have is to be more creative than your competitors.

To find that idea that is only yours is blinking powerful 🔥

.If you agree, you might like to hear how I distinguish a good idea from a bad one.

Whether I’m looking at a big brand idea, or an idea to launch a new product, I look for these 5 things:

1. Tension:
What’s the rub? 

A great idea has some real tension.

Liquid Death is a poster child for how to disrupt a functional category with an idea.
The brand is a whole idea in itself, but it works because there is a whole lot of natural tension in the idea.

‘Murder your thirst’ is a killer line (pun intended). It creates a natural tension that gives the brand permission to execute something truly original.

These three words are the gift that keeps on giving, which brings me on to point 2.

2. Agnostic:
Can you riff off it again and again?

Aim for long, agnostic, and fluid. It is always ‘insight, strategy, and idea’ in that order, way before execution.

Because get those things right, and you should be able to execute a really great idea anywhere, and over and over again in different ways.

‘You either love it or hate it’ from Marmite is the gift that keeps giving, regardless of marketing tactic, channel, or media. It never grows old.

3. Truthful:
Does it ring true with your brand, product, or consumer?

Does it capture a real truth about your product, or how people see your brand?

Ikea’s ‘Wonderful Everyday’ is the ultimate expression of what Ikea sells shoppers far and wide, wonderfully designed everyday products for the home and work.

It also captures that bit of magic people associate with the brand (regardless of how you feel about a trip around Ikea on a Sunday afternoon).

4. Memorable:
Does it have the potential to stick with people?

This comes down to simplicity and ultimately making sure the other points stack up. 

Plus committing to the idea over and over again. ‘The Lynx Effect’ is one such idea; it’s a super salient idea that has the double whammy of putting the brand at the heart of the idea.

So ask yourself, will it be a sticky idea? Not just to your target audience, but your internal teams too, who are the ones executing it.

5. Motivating:
Will it motivate those whom the idea needs to speak to?

Will it deliver a sense of aspiration and action? It’s got to express positive energy for the brand.

Airbnb’s ‘Live anywhere’ is one such idea. Two simple words expressing everything that can motivate people to book stays with Airbnb.

And that’s it Brand Explorers.

Judging ideas today?

Feel free to steal my 5 points; it’s about hitting as many of the points, but don’t wrap yourself up in hitting them all.

Or don’t feel like your in-house teams (or current agency partner) are hitting the heights of great ideas for your outdoor, sports, and lifestyle brand?

Then you might want consider Excursion Studio for your next brief.

And join marketers from the likes of Nike, Umbro, Wiggle, Stella Artois, Absolut, and William Grant & Sons (to name a few) who have all worked with me and my team to develop big ideas for their brand.

Need ideas today:

Let’s get a brand and marketing appraisal set up, where I show you how we get ideas to build bigger brands.

→ Click the link below
→ Find a time we can meet
→ Let’s talk big ideas

Here’s to good taste..

Neil
Your New Ideas Man
Excursion Studio