So many “branding” companies pay lip service to “standing out”.

We’ve seen it over and over on agency websites telling people how they’ll help them “stand out from the crowd”, “make an impact” and all those other marketing cliches used so often they become meaningless.

The truth is, most companies, people and projects WANT to stand out – but when it comes to making an actual decision that goes against the grain they pull back. 

Because, in reality, standing out is SCARY.

That’s right, standing out is the scariest thing human beings can do. And it’s part of our conditioning.

We’ve been raised since childhood to fit in, not stand out. 

We’re raised to follow the rules, play our roles, raise our hands when we want to speak and get in line with the party platform. 

So everyone says they want to stand out because they know that it’s important for getting the attention they need. But when it comes time to pull the trigger on something weird, unique or risky, they freeze. 

We experience this with clients EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

The fear, the anxiety, and the hesitation leading to bad decisions… sometimes to NO DECISION. 

So we’re here to tell you – standing out is about:

1. Having a point of view that goes against the grain and speaking it loud and clear
2. Making “risky” choices that are DIFFERENT from what everyone else is doing
3. Being YOURSELF in a sea of sameness

There are brands that do this very well. 

There are brands that have the GUTS to take a risky idea and execute it in a way that gets noticed. 

Below are several brands we feel have done a great job of making their mark by standing out. STUDY THEM. Absorb their content and learn more about them. 

Then find your unique point of view and take that leap of faith to do things differently.

Patagonia takes a risk every day by NOT putting profits before principle. I mean, the founder LITERALLY just gave the company away.

Liquid Death does this every day by taking the world’s greatest commodity and packaging differently than anyone else.

Squatty Potty takes a taboo activity and makes it accessible and approachable through well executed humor.

ZenDesk shows that you don’t need to be all serious all the time to successfully run a B2B business. They effectively combine education with humor in this ad.

Adobe is dedicated to their mission of creativity for all and practices this themselves in their brand and marketing.

Adobe – Click Baby Click on Vimeo

If you want us to help you stand out, hit us up!