The Most Overrated Brand Rules
(and when to ignore them)
The Problem with Rules
Marketing is full of so-called “musts.” Stay consistent. Post daily. Don’t change your logo. Always lead with the product.
But most of these rules aren’t universal truths, they are meant to be guardrails that work sometimes in some contexts. And if you follow them blindly, you can end up doing the exact opposite of what your brand actually needs. (Following them blindly is also a lazy shortcut because it means you don’t have to think about anything).
Three Rules I See Broken All the Time (For Good Reason)
1. “We can’t confuse the audience.”
Confusion is bad. Curiosity is good. If your messaging never makes people stop to figure out what you mean, you’re not cutting through. The brands that stand out are the ones that give their audience credit for being smart enough to lean in, and reward them when they do.
2. “We have to be on every channel.”
Spreading yourself thin doesn’t make you omnipresent, it makes you forgettable. The strongest brands know where their audience actually engages and double down there, even if it means ignoring platforms everyone else chases.
3. “Our look and tone can’t change.”
If your brand feels the same year after year, chances are it’s aging faster than you think. You don’t have to blow up your identity, but small, intentional shifts can re-energize your presence and signal relevance without losing recognition.
How to Know When to Break a Rule
Check the intent. Was this rule built for the current stage of your business, or a past version?
Test in low-risk spaces. Pilot changes on one channel, one audience segment, or one campaign before rolling them out widely.
Measure the right thing. If breaking the rule improves awareness, trust, or conversion (and doesn’t harm your core brand promise) keep going.
Watch the response inside the business. If internal teams feel energized, that’s a sign the shift might be worth scaling.
Case Studies of Rule-Breaking That Worked
Spotify Wrapped ignored the “keep campaigns evergreen” mantra by building a massive annual moment that resets every year, and now owns the December conversation.
LEGO Ideas tossed the “brands set the roadmap” playbook by letting fans pitch and vote on new sets, driving deeper engagement.
Oatly ditched the category’s wholesome, health-forward tone for irreverent, sometimes absurd copy and became a global name in the process.
TL;DR
Rules are useful until they’re not. The best brands know the difference between discipline and dogma. Don’t protect a rule just because it’s in the brand book. Protect the reason the rule exists.
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Every campaign you launch either reinforces the right brand rules…or exposes the ones holding you back.
You fought to get that bold brand campaign approved. The creative was brave. The reach was massive.
Then the post-campaign meeting rolls around. The CFO is in the room. The CMO asks what’s changed in people’s minds. All you’ve got are impressions and CTR.
Vanity metrics won’t save you. If you can’t show how your work moved the needle on awareness, consideration, and preference — especially with the audiences who matter most — next quarter’s budget is on the chopping block.
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Coming Up Next
The Campaign Autopsy: How to Learn From What Didn’t Work
I’ll break down a process for turning “meh” results into high-return insights for your next move.
What to Know This Week
Gamification is becoming non-negotiable. Brands are realizing that engagement is earned through experience, and gamified campaigns are now table stakes.
Brands deliver cinema-level experiences in-store. Gibson, AT&T, and Ralph Lauren are moving into immersive retail experiences with multi-sensory activations designed to stop people in their tracks.
AI personalization drives both efficiency and loyalty. Inclusive, data-rich personalization is proving it can boost first-choice preference by 62%, short-term sales by 3.5%, and long-term sales by 16%.
Dupe culture moves mainstream (and strategic). Brands like Lululemon and Kanzen are launching intentional "dupe" campaigns, leaning into consumer demand for value without sacrificing brand relevance.
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