Rip up the Rule Book and Rewrite your Marketing Playbook
Cutting Out the Crap
Let's get one thing straight—if your marketing feels "safe," it's probably doing nothing. It’s time to face the hard truth. The market is overcrowded, attention spans are those of a newt, and your audience is bombarded with half-baked campaigns and recycled strategies. Playing it safe won’t cut through the noise—it just blends you into the background. Comfort zones don't sell; bold moves do.
Why Safe Strategies Are Failing You
Think about the last boring ad campaign you scrolled past. The ones packed with tired clichés like “We’re committed to excellence” or “Your one-stop shop for XYZ.” Did you stop? Of course not. Now, imagine your audience reacting the same way to your overly polished, generic messaging. It's a gut punch, isn’t it?
Here’s the bottom line—the business world is saturated with comfort-seekers sticking to “proven” methods that simply don’t provoke interest anymore. Safe campaigns might not offend or ruffle feathers, but they sure as hell don’t excite, either. And in today’s cutthroat market, doing nothing to stand out is the same as willingly fading into irrelevance.
Examples of ‘Safe’ That Flop:
Copy that’s so generic it could belong to any company in your industry.
Ads that rely on buzzwords—“innovative,” “trusted,” “top-notch.” Wow, groundbreaking.
Reluctance to experiment with bold visuals or controversial (but strategic) messaging.
Sticking with outdated methods just because “it’s how we’ve always done it.”
Now Is the Time to Get Uncomfortable
Look around. Industries are shifting at breakneck speed. AI is skyrocketing innovation, consumer needs are evolving, and the competition is fiercer (and louder) than it’s ever been. Sure, doubling down on “safe” feels easier in the short term, but easy never wins. Standing still when the market is racing forward is a one-way ticket to irrelevance.
The brands that thrive are the ones unafraid to get uncomfortable—to try the risky strategy, to take the creative leap nobody else is willing to take. These are the businesses rewriting the rulebook and turning heads while the rest are buried in sameness.
The Case for Doing It Differently
If you want to succeed, your marketing needs to dare. It needs to surprise, provoke, maybe even make some people uncomfortable. And no, I’m not advocating for shock tactics—this is about authenticity and boldness. It’s about owning your point of view and refusing to dilute it to please everyone.
Here’s why bold marketing works—and safe doesn’t:
Emotion Drives Action: Bold messaging triggers strong emotions. Playing it too safe? You might as well be invisible.
Unpredictability Breaks Patterns: The brain is wired to ignore what feels predictable. The unexpected doesn’t just grab attention; it holds onto it.
Leaders Don’t Blend In: Think of any market-leading brand. Did they get there by following the herd or by carving their own path? Exactly.
How to Break Free from Safe
Challenge Assumptions: What “rules” are you playing by that no longer serve you? Rule-breaking doesn’t mean recklessness—it means rethinking your approach.
Own Your Edge: What makes you uniquely YOU? Shout about it. Stop sanding off the edges that make you stand out.
Ask Your Toughest Questions: What’s the bold move you’ve feared making but know could level you up? What’s the dated strategy you keep clinging to despite its mediocrity?
Commit to Action: Boldness is useless without follow-through. If you’re ready to step up and shake things up, do it NOW. Half-measures kill progress.
Stop Waiting for Permission. Start Standing Out.
Cutting out the crap isn’t just my mantra—it’s a movement. The ones who dare to challenge the norm, break the mould, and take a different road are the ones worth watching. They’re the brands we remember. The ones who reap the rewards of standing out.
Want to replicate that success? You can. But only if you choose to quit the excuses and ditch the safe strategies holding you back.
Feeling that nervous excitement that comes when you’re about to step off the edge into something bold and new? That’s a sign you’re on the right track.
Here’s your next step: Rip up the Rulebook and Rewrite your Marketing Playbook. Not tomorrow. Now. Click over to www.doingitdifferently.com, or book your No B.S. Brief, and start making moves that will actually change the game. Just click here and send me an E mail
Safe is broken. Bold is the future. Don’t get left behind.
And Cut out the Crap!
John (Nick), The CreAcivist who is Doing it Differently
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