Just Do It

Garth Beyer

I had a really smart friend in high school. She shared her opinions with me about everything from dance themes, the book club we were in, student council and how the outdoor fair day could be even more fun.

All of the things she had opinions on didn’t shine as much as they would have had she found a way to act on or implement her ideas. I didn’t realize it in the moment, so I never encouraged her to speak up, contribute, run for council or anything.

Bummer.

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I have no problem starting a book and not finishing it if I think it’s a terrible book, which means I’ve explored a lot of books. And many of the books have blown my mind. Not in the sense of being great, but in regard to the fact that someone put their stamp of approval on it, published it, distributed it, spent marketing dollars on it and so on.

This doesn’t just happen in the book industry, though. It happens in every industry. No doubt you’ve seen a movie or TV show that was absolutely dismal.

Yet, there it was.

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Rather than advertising himself in the perfect place (which is often the crowded and costly one), Johnny Cupcakes seeks out the edges. Whenever you buy a shirt from Johnny, you get more than a shirt. My latest order included a motivational print and a packet of x-men playing cards.

Slim Jim connects the long boi gang with one another through endless memes.

Uno celebrates it’s 50th anniversary with Nike and Giannis.

The brands that get talked about are the ones that are marketing at the edge.

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Someone had the guts to share the idea with Espolon Tequila that they should do more with the lifestyle photography they have in their library and it’s why they’re on Unsplash, where I get my photos for my blog posts.

We can go back and forth on if it’s the perfect place for them, but I find the argument is much more fun to have once they are there.

Same goes for most marketing arguments. It’s all theory until it’s real and once it’s real, there’s no need to argue about whether or not to do the idea because it’s being done. The best part is the two conversations the spark after a brand explores an edge. 1. How can we be better in the space? 2. What’s the next edge to explore?

As a marketer, that’s far more inspirational than spending hours on a deck making the case to do something in the first place.

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There’s a particular thread through the brands and people that we all talk about. It’s not their core values or the amount of charity dollar they’ve raised or the quality of their products; it’s that they decide to show up in unique places. They get ideas and they just do them.

(And if you’re thinking “well, of course they vet and evaluate and plan and put a lot of work into all these new spaces,” you’re not wrong. The same can be said for all the expected and crowded places they show up, too. The amount of effort doesn’t change, but the impact they have sure does.)

Stay Positive & Time To Take Some Shots

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Garth Beyer
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