TIP THE SCALE

WHEN SCALE WAS EVERYTHING, WE AS MARKETERS OFTEN WORSHIPPED AT ITS ALTER. DEVELOP A CATCHY SPOT, BLAST IT OUT WITH ENOUGH MEDIA WEIGHT AND SCORCHED EARTH GRP’S AND OUR JOB WAS DONE. THE SALES WOULD COME RUSHING IN. IT WAS RINSE REPEAT AD NASUEAM FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

WHEN I GOT INTO THE BUSINESS OF ADVERTISING FULL STOP, I HEARD THE WORD SCALE OVER AND OVER. I WAS ALWAYS OF THE MINDSET THAT I’D RATHER DO INTERESTING THINGS FOR MY CLIENTS. EARLY ON THOSE THINGS CONSISTED OF DEVELOPING FASHION COLLABORATIONS, PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN VIDEOS, STREET TEAM MARKETING, SPONSORSHIPS, PARTIES WITH RECORD LABELS, AND SEEDING MUSICAL ARTISTS. (ALL PRE-DIGITAL)

EVEN BACK THEN, I FIGURED THAT IF YOU DID THINGS THAT MATTERED TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND YOU SPREAD THE WORD IN A VALIABLE AND MEANINGFUL WAY, THEY’D HELP YOU DO YOUR JOB AND SPREAD THE WORD FOR YOU.

SINCE I’VE BECOME A STRATEGIST AND CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVER, CHARGED WITH THE CREATION, RE-POSITIONING AND STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF BRANDS BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND GLOBALLY, I’VE CARRIED THIS FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF INTO EVERYTHING I TOUCH. THERE IS AN INTERESTING TENSION BETWEEN SCALE AND INTERSTING AS MANY CLIENTS THAT I’VE WORKED WITH EITHER SEE THESE DYNAMICS AS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE POLES THAT MAY HAPPEN TO INTERWINE AT THEIR BEST, BUT LIVE IN SEPARATE WORLDS AT THEIR WORST.

IN TODAY’S CULTURE, SCALE IS NO LONGER THE WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION THAT IT USED TO BE, MANY LARGE CPG’S AND FORTUNE 100’S WHO HAVE NOT EVOLVED ARE SEEING THE PROOF OF THIS IN THEIR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE.

WE’RE NOW IN A CULTURALLY DEPENDENT, COMPLEX MARKETING WORLD, WHERE PEOPLE DEMAND THAT YOU UDERSTAND THEM, THEIR NEEDS AND THEIR INTERESTS – AND THEN FIND A WAY TO HELP THEM BECOMRE MORE THAN THEY COULD WITHOUT YOU.

WE LIVE IN TIME WHEN MARKETING MUST BE INSIGHTFUL, FILLED WITH MEANING, AND COME FROM A PLACE OF VALUE. MARKETING MUST BE INTERESTING ABOVE ALL ELSE. INTERESTING CUTS THROUGH, IT DIFFERENTIATES, IT OPENS UP THE AD BLOCKERS, IT GETS SHARED, IT GOES VIRAL, IT INSPIRES NOT ONLY THE PEOPLE THAT CONSUME IT, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO CREATE IT.

THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE ASKS YOU HOW YOU’RE GOING TO SCALE, ASK THEM HOW CAN WE FIRST BE INTERESTING, AND HOW THEN DO WE SCALE THAT?

Rupture Studio is a strategy-led, creative collective that bridges the gap between the street and the suite, by leveraging cultural change to drive business growth. 

www.rupturestudio.co | @rupturereport