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One of the reasons that there are great ideas dying in boardrooms all over the world as you read this, is because people didn't have the courage to speak up and have their ideas heard. Few of us have the courage to rock the boat, disrupt the norm, go against the flow and swim against the tide in order to find a new and innovative way of doing something, either in or out of the office. Even fewer have the courage to speak up and be heard over the roar of mediocrity with a new and interesting way of finding a solution to a given issue. It takes courage.
There is no doubt that the face of brand globally is changing. Trends driven by consumers and customers are changing how brand managers, marketing managers, CEO's and entrepreneurs need to look at and handle their brands. For the last 10 years I've been doing key note addresses to some of the best known brands both here and overseas, and in doing so, I've collected a bunch of stories, anecdotes and examples of how the great brands are building a true vibe around their organisation. Today more than ever, you can't just have a logo to bang on the side of a box or at the top of an invoice to know who to pay. Today you must own a perception.
Have you ever noticed that the people who have the best ideas are the ones who never seem to be rushing? As I disembarked from a flight to Melbourne early one morning, I casually cruised through the terminal to the pick up area. Around me guys were rushing, bags in arm, mobile phones locked to their ears. It dawned on me that these guys wont find the next idea.
Iconic actor Paul Newman, famous for his roles in movies like The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid and the Colour of Money , was being interviewed by James Lipton on Inside The Actors Studio. Lipton commented that he had read how important rehearsal was to Newman. Newman replied, "I have always liked the exploration. In fact on some occasions I would lock myself in a hotel room with a 12 pack of Budweiser, just to see where I could go with this thing. You would be happy to know that 90% of this discovery was useless. It seemed eccentric and exciting at the time, and yet (he pauses) 10% of it was from a place I didn't know about. It took me down avenues that I don't think I would have otherwise explored."
For many years now in my speeches about marketing and brand, I have made mention of a number of the most recognised brands in Australia bringing back positioning statements which were dumped 10-15 years ago after many years, or even decades, of service. Brands such as Mortein (with Louie the Fly), Antz Pantz, Pea Beau, Razamatazz and Mars have all gone down the path of changing their positoning only to come back 5-10 years later to resurrect their iconic positioning and a successful strategy.