The ideal state of being is “all play and no work”
Had AI comb through my call transcripts (thanks, team Fudge for freeing up my time for these "experiments") to see what advice I've been giving the different people I’ve got on Zoom calls with. Here are the 10 I repeat the most.
Lead generation is important, only if you know what to do with the leads you generate (credit to Shafraz from IQ for this nugget)
Frameworks are important, only if you use them to guide your thinking and not as a ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ activity
Performance marketing is important, only if you make the effort to make your brand memorable at the same time
Social content is important, only if it’s tied to your end objectives
Brand strategy is important, only after you know that your product sells
Listening to your customers is important, only if you know when not to listen to them
AI is important, only if you know how to brief an AI (people who suck at briefing other people, usually suck at this too)
A brand guide is important, only if you train your design team to use it consistently
Hiring an agency is important, only if you partner with them on strategic thinking and give them creative freedom (You have better things to do)
And finally,
Non-work (hobbies, friends and family, wellness etc.) is more important for good work than work-work (sitting behind a desk 40 hours a week).
It’s highly likely that no one (other than you) will ever love your brand.
‘Brand love’ entertains the idea that people continue to buy from the brands that they love because brands, through their marketing has created an emotional connection akin to romance with its customers.
Bullsh*t
Let’s look at this year’s list.
At number 1 we have Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol. Is it an amazing brand? Absolutely. Did you feel a gush of oxytocin when you read the brand name? I doubt it.
The fact that people trust the brand, is a function of its fame. It has expended so much efficiency to popularize its brand codes among people. That signals one thing: If Dettol makes a bad batch of hand wash tomorrow, they have a lot more to lose than gain.
That is why, the average person will spend a little more to buy Dettol instead of a relatively unknown brand.
To say that this is a function of brand love, is like saying people with good morals always end up rich and successful. In reality, the opposite is true.
Then we have the issue of how the brand can get to the top of the list. Is it by giving excellent customer service or running a lot of purpose-driven campaigns?
Imagine this, Dialog was once the most ‘loved’ brand on the list. In a situation where people were publicly burning their routers, they topped the bloody list.
Is Dialog a great brand? Absolutely. Is its customer service useful? Not in my experience. Do I still continue to use Dialog? Yes.
The difficulty for me to shift from dialog is directly proportional to their SOV. It’s not love. If at all, it’s a toxic relationship.
The real threat of these lists are not for the big brands. They will benefit from the PR and the mimetic nature of humans - people who see that its the most love brand believe that other people love the brand.
The real threat is to the small and medium brands who spend the little budgets they have on things that have no returns. Don’t be mislead. No one will ever love your brand.
Book of the week:
Here’s why I decided against migrating (no it’s not patriotism).
Non-Sri Lankans reading this, you might want to read this for context.
South Asians have not found their true identity. It’s buried under layers of foreign invasions and cultural appropriation for political gain. Once you tune out the news and take a closer look, you start getting a feel of the island’s true spirit. For the curious mind, this can be too good an opportunity to pass up on.
The world is a more inclusive place on social media and in movies, than in reality. It has traded being openly racist with cold acceptance - consider the wage gap between South Asian migrants and their European counterparts.
Income earned from foreign clients is not subject to tax. This means most of my income is tax free.
My support group is here. This is the main reason I am staying back. My family and friends are my biggest fail safe. It would make life immensely challenging to not have that support.
Sure, my reasons might seem self-centered. But at the end of the day, if you're not looking out for yourself, how can you stand up for others? Stay or go, the key is to be content with your choice.
That’s all. Let me know the good and the bad. Stay bold.