Listen up, you click-obsessed, short-term-thinking marketers.

Have a seat.
We need to talk.

Remember when marketing was about more than just chasing the next shiny digital trend?

When we actually gave a damn about building something that lasts?

Yeah, those were the days.

Before, we all lost our minds and started worshipping metrics over everything that actually matters.

Well, I’m here to give you a wake-up call.

It’s time to get our heads out of the sand and face the truth:

Brand isn’t dead.

It’s not even on life support.

It’s the freaking secret sauce we’ve been ignoring while we chase our tails with pointless metrics.

Feeling the great marketing brainfart?

Let’s be real.

We’ve all been there.

The client or boss wants results, and they want them yesterday.

So what do we do?

We panic.

We throw money at Facebook ads.

We obsess over click-through rates.

We high-five each other over a 0.1% increase in conversion rates.

Meanwhile, our brand is crying in the corner, wondering what it did to deserve this neglect.

Heard of Brand PTSD?

Oops, we did it again.

In our rush to prove we’re not just the “make things pretty” department, we fell into a trap.

A shiny, digital, instant gratification metric-obsessed trap.

Can’t measure it. Won’t do it.

We got so caught up in the thrill of immediate results that we forgot about the long game.

It’s like we were playing chess but only looking one move ahead.

As the great Peter Drucker once said (probably while shaking his head at us):

“You have to produce results in the short term. But you also have to produce results in the long term. And the long term is not simply the adding up of short terms.”

Preach, Peter. Preach.

Brand is the gift that keeps giving.

Brand building isn’t just about the future.

It’s about now, too.

Recent studies show that strong brand campaigns don’t just build long-term equity.

They also drive short-term sales.

It’s like having your cake and eating it too.

Yum!

Take Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.

It didn’t just sell shoes.

It sold an idea.

A feeling.

A lifestyle.

And oh boy, did it sell a lot of shoes in the process.

Why can’t people ignore a great brand?

Let’s get nerdy for a second.

Our brains have two systems:

1. The fast, emotional one (ooh, shiny!)
2. The slow, logical one (hmm, let me think about this)

Guess which one makes most of our buying decisions?

Yep, the emotional one.

That’s why a strong brand is like a secret weapon.

It taps into our feelings, creating trust and loyalty.

When you think of Apple, you don’t just think of “phone”.

You think “innovation”, “design”, “that thing I can’t live without”.

Here’s a wild idea.

Consistency.

Say the same thing over and over again.

Groundbreaking, right?

But seriously, consistency is key.

It’s like that friend who always brings the same dish to the potluck.

You might roll your eyes, but deep down, you love knowing what to expect.

People hate uncertainty.

Coca-Cola has been selling happiness for decades.

Whether it’s a Super Bowl ad or a vending machine, the message is always the same: Coke = Joy.

And we eat (or drink) it up every time.

It’s not about you.
It’s about your customers.

Here’s a hard truth: your customers don’t care about your ROI or market share.

They care about themselves.

Shocking, I know.

As Simon Sinek puts it:

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

So stop talking about yourself and start talking about your customers.

What do they care about?

What keeps them up at night?

How can your brand make their lives better?

Here’s what you can do:

1. Think long-term
   Short-term tactics have their place, but they should support your brand strategy, not replace it.
2. Tell stories
   Humans love stories. Make your customer the hero.
3. Be consistent.
   Everywhere. All the time. It’s not boring, it’s smart.
4. Get emotional.
   Tap into how you want people to feel about your brand.
5. Make it about them.
   Your brand exists to serve your customers. Never forget that.

Finally.

Brand is the one true constant in a world of fleeting trends and flavours of the month.

It’s not just a strategy.

It’s THE strategy.

So let’s raise a can (of RedBull, naturally) to brand.

It was always the right answer.

We just got a little distracted along the way.

Now, go forth and build that brand.

Your future self will thank you.

References:
https://www.marketingweek.com/ritson-brand-building-boost-short-term-sales/

https://www.marketingweek.com/airbnb-earnings-surge-effective-marketing-spend