When you choose to follow the crowd, you and your brand disappear into it
There’s a trend that’s been allowed to gain momentum for far too long – the me-too mindset.
Frankly, it’s killing brands.
“My competitor’s doing this, so we should do something like this too.”
“My peers are doing it, so I’ll copy their style.”
Somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten how to be bold. How to be different. How and why it’s important to challenge the status quo.
Where have all the great TV commercials gone?
Think back. How many TV ads from the past year can you remember?
One? Two? None?
Now think back to the ‘80s and ‘90s (if you’re old enough). Instantly, the classics come flooding in:
- Oxo – “Remember Preston?”
- Nescafe Gold Blend – “Have you met your new neighbour?”
- Smash – “Mash gets smashed”
- Carlsberg – “Probably the best lager in the world.”
- Yellow Pages – “JR Hartley”
- Hamlet Cigars – Photo booth
These ads stood out because they dared to be different. They had good stories behind the concepts or and used clever humour And because of that, they etched themselves into our long-term memory – which is what marketing is meant to do. People purchased Smash because of these adverts and it’s likely (as you can still buy it in supermarkets) those robots are still notching up the sales in 2025.
Marketing that understands why people buy – and makes them act.
It’s no longer enough to be seen. In today’s crowded, noisy marketplace, customers are bombarded with choices like never before – and they’re more informed than they’ve ever been. To succeed, your brand can’t just show up. It has to become the first choice.
The Behaviour Shift Method is a strategic approach to marketing that uses behavioural insight to guide informed customers from attention to action. Marketing doesn’t stop at awareness. Every step – message, channel, and experience – is designed to move your audience through the sales funnel with intent and purpose.
This is marketing that drives action. That supports sales. That ensures no opportunity leaks through the cracks. In short: marketing that works, because it’s built on how people actually think, decide, and buy.
Sameness is the silent killer
If you’ve ever watched (or been forward to watch Dirty Dancing) – Johnie, played by Patrick Swayze, gets really enthusiastic when the Manager comes to see him about the end of season dance. “I want to shake this up a bit” he says to Johnie. Johnie is ignited and starts to show him some new and unique moves and dances that would bring life and vibrancy to the show. Instead…The Manager cuts him off and tells Johnie “it’s way over your head…” and that his idea of shaking it up – is just a different but common dance routine.
At the end of the film, Johnie rocks up uninvited does the dancing he wants to do – only when the establishment see first hand that their customers like this different entertainment, they realise a shakeup and new ways are what they needed to survive. A business leader who thinks they have all of the answers is a danger to their business. When Johnie has an idea – listen, don’t discount.
Neuroscience has something to say, too
Our brains love the familiar — that’s true. But there’s a difference between familiar and same.
- Familiar is comforting.
- Same is invisible.
When your message looks, sounds, and feels like every other message in your space, the brain simply tunes out. To earn attention, you have to break the patters and say something that causes a double take and holds your gaze. That’s what effective marketing does.
I’m not going to tell you how to stand out. That’s our job.
But if you’ve read this far, it’s probably because something resonated.
And if it did, let’s talk.
Because sure, we can do what everyone else is doing – but your brand? It deserves better.
It deserves to be different.