It feels as though we're becoming increasingly impatient.

We don't just expect information quickly anymore; we expect everything quickly. We become irritated if a website takes a few seconds to load. We skip the introduction to a programme because we want to get straight into it. We play podcasts and voice notes at double the speed because thirty minutes somehow feels like too long. Even when we're watching TV, many of us find ourselves reaching for our phones during the quieter moments.

There has never been a better time to create content.

There has also never been a worse time to sound different.

Every day, businesses publish blogs, social posts, emails, videos and website copy at a rate that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. With AI now sitting a few clicks away, entire marketing campaigns can be produced before you've even finished your morning coffee.

Let's be honest, that's what we're all here for.

Most people don't start a business because they dream of spending their days worrying about lead generation, SEO, networking events or social media algorithms. They start because they're good at something. They have a skill, a service or an idea they believe can help people and make a living at the same time.

Then reality hits.

There are more TV channels today than ever before.

Hundreds of them. Streaming platforms everywhere. Infinite choice, on-demand content, personalised recommendations and entire libraries available at the touch of a button.

Yet somehow, most nights, people still end up scrolling endlessly, thinking: “There’s nothing worth watching.”

Modern branding and marketing feel very similar.

Somewhere along the way, ‘branding’ stopped being about making your company recognisable and started being about producing documents nobody reads.

These days, every business seems to believe they must have 60-page brand guidelines, a sweeping mission statement, a purpose, pillars, archetypes, personas, tone of voice; the whole shebang.

Nike’s recent running campaign has triggered the usual wave of reaction, criticism of tone, debate over wording, and plenty of people deciding whether it crossed a line.

Some have taken offence.
Others have questioned the thinking behind it.
A few have put it down to poor execution.

That doesn’t feel like the right conclusion.

If you’ve ignored your brand and marketing for years and suddenly realised you need to ‘do something’, it can feel daunting.

It usually starts with a trigger.

An upcoming event.
A competitor seems to have upped their game.
Sales have dipped slightly.
A new employee asks, “What exactly are we doing about marketing?”