Be Rebellous: 4 Unwritten Marketing Rules Your Brand Should Certainly be Breaking Today

Photo: Florian van Duyn/Unsplash

Traditions are a funny thing. On one hand, we honor them because of their historic relevance to our lives; be it socially, culturally, spiritually, or otherwise. Yet on the other hand, staunchly following certain traditions could also become an impediment that prevents you from making necessary progress. 

Similar to traditions, there are many unwritten rules throughout various aspects of society that when adhered to, could also serve as an impediment to your progress. Especially as far as business is concerned. 

The practice of marketing also has its share of unwritten rules. Some of which would be in your brand’s best interest to abide by. While others could greatly hinder your brand’s growth if you’re still observing them today. 

1. Play it safe 

As times change, many societal norms often do so as well. And when norms change, it is usually in your brand’s best interest to consider adjusting to those changes. Or risk being left behind in the minds of today’s consumers. 

Take marketing communications for example. For decades, brands typically played it safe with their approach towards copywriting and imagery presented to the public in their marketing materials by avoiding rocking the proverbial boat in hopes of not offending audiences who may have been put off by… Let's just say, risqué content.

Now I’m not sure if you may have noticed this or not, but the days of being “PC” are long gone. These days, everyone from elected officials, to CEOs, and many other worldly dignitaries freely and openly connect with their audiences by speaking to them more explicitly. Which resonates a lot more with today’s consumers than in years past. 

2. Massive production is the key to scale 

For those of us who have taken an Introduction to Marketing course in college, one of the very first lessons that we were taught in that course consisted of a breakdown of the key principles of marketing. Which are known as the 4 Ps of Marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. 

Although it is often overlooked as so, product distribution plays a big part as it concerns successfully executing the 4 Ps of marketing; as it falls under the place category. 

Nonetheless, for years, an unwritten marketing rule amongst business executives and marketing professionals has been that mass producing a product—is key when it comes to scaling a business. Which is totally false. 

The reason why this particular unwritten rule should be broken is because your business could scale without flooding the market with your brand’s products. In fact, many brands today have scaled their business by taking the opposite approach. Choosing instead to shorten their supply and attract more customers through scarcity.

3. Avoid shamelessly promoting your brand 

Another unwritten marketing rule that you should absolutely obliterate is avoiding shamelessly promoting your brand, products, or services. Not very long ago, it was standard for founders and CEOs to speak humbly about their respective brands during interviews, presentations, and other public-facing opportunities. 

Even though being humble is always a great quality for one to possess, when it comes to promoting your brand, humbleness isn’t going to attract the customers you desire. 

Today’s consumers want you, as the face of your brand, to tell them just how great your offerings are, and what’s more, they also want you to boast about how superior your brand is over its competitors. 

Think about it, if the late Steve Jobs had taken the humble approach when introducing Apple’s products, would consumers have still slept in lines overnight in order to ensure they’d be one of the first people to purchase the product? Of course not!  

4. Openly addressing your opps 

Competition. As long as your brand stays in business, eventually, it will come across its share of competitors. And some of those competitors will make it quite obvious to anyone who’ll listen that they oppose your brand. 

Brands that oppose your brand (your opps), often pose a great risk to your brand by seizing both market share and mind share amongst your target customers.

Although most brands choose to avoid confrontation, in many industries, avoiding openly calling out a competitor is an unwritten marketing rule that has lost its luster as of late. Sure, during the 90s, a few mega brands openly threw barbs at one another in their ads.

Brand beefs like: Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi, Energizer vs. Duracell, and McDonalds vs. Burger King, definitely kept consumers entertained and interested in seeing each of their next ads. But it has always been considered an industry faux pas for brand marketers to openly address their competitors—be it on the airwaves or on social media.

But like being able to watch music videos on MTV, those days are long gone. No longer is it considered a classless move in the eyes of consumers for brands to openly joke about their direct competitors on social media. In fact, consumers now encourage it. 

For example, brands like: Wingstop, Popeyes, Buffalo Wild Wings, and KFC have all traded jabs amongst each other recently on social media. And consumers are absolutely loving it! Often sharing the brand’s comical posts about one another on their social media pages. Which is something that obviously helps all brands involved. 

Final thoughts

Some rules were meant to be broken. Especially those that are unwritten. So while they may have made sense back when they were put in place, from a marketing perspective, like many traditions, many unwritten marketing rules often only serve as customs to keep the status quo in place. Which is something that we totally rebel against at Decryption. 

If your brand also believes that the status quo is totally unacceptable, let's chat about all of the rebellious ways in which together—we’ll take your brand to the next level!