Free your mind from constraints...and old ways of thinking.
Defend. Redesign. Or Ditch.
As the new person in an organization, or as a marketing consultant, you may frequently hear "It's how we've always done it" as a refrain to certain questions. Why do you sponsor this event? Why is your newsletter quarterly? Why do you put content on Pinterest?
If it's a line item in your marketing plan or budget, you should have a good reason why you're spending effort or money on it. And "it's how we've always done it" isn't justification enough.
If no one can remember the real rationale for holding onto a visual asset, a marketing process, a program or even a line item expenditure -- it's time to reassess. If you cannot rationally defend it using ROI or another meaningful metric, it's time to redesign or ditch.
I imagine when PETA initially starting lobbying Nabisco to change their animal cracker packaging, which features animals shown in circus cages, company or product leads invoked history; nostalgia, or ultimately "it's how it's always been" as their defense. I bet they didn't point to customer insights that could help them defend their design, such a: "we have better brand loyalty (or sell more product) when we show animals in cages."
PETA kept the heat on and this week, Nabisco unveiled a new package design. Lo and behold -- it feels so much more vibrant, interesting and modern...while still closely embracing the Nabisco brand. And while Nabisco perhaps got shamed into their redesign, I'm willing to bet it's more aligned to today's young families who are more concerned with endangerment of these majestic animals than feelings of nostalgia toward a previous century's circus lore.
It just goes to show, in marketing, we can't rest easy. We have to continually re-evaluate our work and every element that goes into it. We can't trust we are staying relevant and delivering what our customers want just because it's all we've ever given them - the old way of doing things is never the ONLY way. If that's all you got; it's time to defend, redesign or ditch.
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