Fitting In is for High School

Fitting in is for high school, it is not for business and it’s especially not healthy for your brand.

It’s more than just the tagline for my company, it’s how you succeed in business – you must be bold to stand out.

Be bold. Stand out.

If there is certain advertising style or marketing trend that is popular, think about how you can go the other way and make yourself stand out.

I’ll give you an example. I deal with companies in the equestrian industry, more specifically farms and horse breeders. The majority of the ads you see in horse publications are the same. Most utilize the ‘standard’; a large full body shot of a horse, a few smaller shots (either movement shots or headshots), use of a script-ish font, and inclusion of pedigree and award information. You see lots of “quality” this or “bred for…” that. Typically the horses are beautiful, so the ad makes for a pretty picture, but it’s not memorable, and memorable is the name of the game.

I can flip through a horse publication and “oohh and aaahhh” over all of the pretty horses, but ask me if I remember any of the farm names. Nope. Do I remember the names of the horses in the ads? Still a no.

If you are doing what everyone else is doing, though it may be pretty & nice, you will just look like everyone else. Looking like everyone else does not make for a strong brand.

Be bold. Go against the grain. Do what others are not doing, or what others have not thought of doing yet.

Be a pioneer. Set the trend instead of following it, and you set your brand up for success.