Are You Using Old Rulers to Measure New Things?

Our clients bring amazing things into the world. What fuels us as marketers—on top of our client's ingenuity—are the thinkers, practitioners and creators who are showing us a new way. In this space, every few weeks we share what is capturing our attention—big or small.

1. Why new rulers always unlock new value

At PJA, we’ll often focus a strategic exploration by pinning a target on status quo thinking in a client’s category. Jasmine Bina of the Concept Bureau recently surfaced a fascinating lens for locating the status quo—the act of “using old rulers to measure new things.” She shares examples, such as how seeing Earth from the moon established a new grid for measuring our relationship to our planet. As another example, she unpacks how readily we use monetary metaphors for our relationship to time: spending time, costing you time, and worth your time all remind us that “time is money.” That’s solidified status quo thinking expressed as a widely shared way to measure value.

Jasmine makes the valid point that, societally, it takes broad agreement to make measures useful and agreeable to the many. In B2B marketing, categories are different, though, and as a substitute for a logical argument, I give you “No Software.” When Marc Benioff branded Salesforce , he hadn’t invented the cloud or SaaS software. Instead, he created an easy-to-apply metric for the seismic shift in the way people thought about having computers help them accomplish their goals. With Salesforce offerings, you’d measure up to this new metric of “no software.” In decreeing the change, he created a new unit of culture: zero software. The world hasn’t looked back, and that is truly an amazing thing.

PJA Author: Robert Davis . View his LinkedIn for more.

2. Apple’s Iconic Super Bowl Ad turns 40!

In 1984, Super Bowl XVIII unfolded in Tampa, FL, between the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Raiders. The Raiders came out on top with a victory and a commanding score of 38-9. Amidst the game’s excitement, a relatively new start-up called 苹果 captured viewers' attention with its iconic TV commercial, ‘1984.’ Directed by Ridley Scott, this 60-second spot drew inspiration from George Orwell’s novel depicting a dystopian future ruled by a Big Brother-like figure—a subtle jab at IBM, the Goliath in personal computers at the time. Apple sought to portray the Macintosh computer as a symbol of empowerment, using the ad to emphasize its role in being original and going against conformity. The spot featured a woman in a white tank top adorned with a Macintosh drawing (which I didn’t notice until someone pointed it out), running towards a screen while being chased by police in black riot gear. Armed with a sledgehammer, the woman charges towards the screen where Big Brother is delivering a speech, eventually throwing the sledgehammer, etching a historic moment in advertising. Rather than listen to me describe the spot, rewatch or watch for the first time one of the most renowned TV spots of all time.

PJA Author: Greg Straface . View his LinkedIn for more.

3. Rewriting the Currency of Change

Varo Bank isn't just talking about financial inclusion; they're rewriting the currency of change.

Varo Bank joined the movement to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. But they took it a step further. Instead of just endorsing the change, they reimagined the $20 bill with faces of everyday people—the hardworking people who form the backbone of our diverse communities. This wasn't just a symbolic nod; it was a resonant declaration that banking and financial success should be within everyone's reach, echoing Varo's core mission.

In today's world, it's not enough to just state your company's values. To truly stand out, you need to embody them, making your message clear to your audience, whether they are businesses or consumers. Varo Bank shows us how it's done—by becoming the very change they advocate for.

PJA Author: Jack Palmer . View his LinkedIn for more.