'Fitting In' Versus 'Breaking Through' -- The Differences in Brand Relationships

Brands and agencies often talk about connecting with consumers as a means of disruption, or a way of cutting through all the media clutter.

However, R/GA’s Nick Law said it best: “Instead of asking ‘How do we break through?’, marketers should be asking ‘How do we fit in?’”

Here are what the differences might look like:

BREAKING THROUGH

• rising up against the tide of consumer adoption, as opposed to riding along with it
• pushing underlying messages more so than creating conversations, or better yet, building brand stories
• looking at products as a consumer affinity, instead of value adds as a lifestyle choice
• exhibiting hubris – thinking that your brand destinations will guarantee engagement
• thinking of utility as a technology solution, not a cultural benefit
• deferring to shock value, instead of social value
• planning merely in terms of a campaign, instead of creating currency that can last indefinitely
• capturing consumer attention, not building loyalty
  

FITTING IN

• thinking about all marketing functions as somehow cause-related
• bringing a higher purpose to all brand interactions and purchase decisions
• socializing all media efforts by creating experiences that can be shared, regardless of platform or channel
• enabling people to adopt brand stories as their own, or, collaborating with them to create new ones
• recognizing that people are loyal to information & content, not destinations
• moving with market demand, not ad inventory demand
• crowdsourcing product development & marketing outreach when necessary
  
• not being afraid to fail in the process of developing new consumer insights
  

Please, by all means, add to the list!