Your brand's once-in-a-decade oppurtunity

THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY IN 2026

LET’S WRITE A BAD ROMANCE

It’s probably the new TikTok trend of guys dancing to Bad Romance by Lady Gaga in front of their girlfriends as a prank (hilarious) that got me thinking about this, but why is this song to this day so iconic?

Released back in 2009, the song got mixed reactions at first. Up until that point Lady Gaga had only released Just Dance and Poker Face. She wasn’t seen as star material yet. Both songs were hits, but nobody thought then that Gaga was gonna be the iconic star she is now.

When the song came out, the industry was oversaturated with overly polished diva wannabe’s making songs that were a lot like Just Dance. Hardly anything stood out. Lady Gaga was seen as just another drop in the sea of sameness that the pop industry was at the time. Most likely following “the rules” set by the industry at the time. Until she didn’t.

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That fear is exactly what holds many artists back and stops them from ever doing anything different or authentic.

Making that music video must’ve been cathartic for Gaga, but releasing it was probably nerve-wracking. That fear is exactly what holds many artists back and stops them from ever doing anything different or authentic to their style of art. Even though we’ve seen time after time that it’s the ones who do are the ones who go on to become icons.

Gaga released Bad Romance and the rest was history. Mixed reactions, sure. But one thing nobody thought Gaga was anymore was basic or another uninspiring diva wannabe. We saw a Gaga who was theatrical, artistic, bold… a true storyteller. And now, an absolute icon.

There are brands who have done this too. Tommy Hilfiger’s hangman ad in the ‘80s was exactly the type of disruptive ad that put them on the map, when many other brands were doing the same high-fashion crap that the big brands were already doing.

Oatly was a brand following rules, guidelines and best practices at one point too. Until they didn’t…

THE COST OF NOT HAVING A BRAND

Anybody who ever worked sales before understands how painfully difficult it is to get a client to trust a company with no brand. Clients make you work harder to prove you’re up for the task. They ask for samples. They ask for proof. They tell you to follow up with them next week. Before they tell you they decided to go with someone else. No matter how good of a salesperson you are, the sales cycle is longer for a low awareness brand and conversion rates are lower.

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Brand awareness is your way of making sure clients buy from your company, not your salespeople.

The salespeople who do succeed are the ones who basically become their own brand. Their clients are their clients, not the company’s… no matter what clauses you’ve added to the contract. That salesperson will drain your company for every penny cause they know they can. They’ll walk all over you and break all your rules.

They’ll stay knowing you need them more than they need you and the moment your competitor offers them more money, they’re gone. And so are their clients. I see this happen to those so-called “sales-oriented organisations” every day.

Brand awareness is your way of making sure clients buy from your company, not your sales people. Having a brand means shorter sales cycles too, cause your salespeople don’t really have to prove your value. The client knows that already. It baffles me how very few marketing and ad people know how to explain the value of building a brand within their organisations. It’s probably why our budgets are the first to get cut when the boat gets rocky.

2026 BRINGS A UNIQUE WINDOW

In the age of “I can do this with AI in seconds,” all your competitors are trying to create crap content with AI. Our feeds are flooded with AI slop that no one wants to engage with, cause no one wanted to create it to begin with.

More than ever, people are actively going out of their way to ignore your “content” and AI;DR is becoming a popular phrase. A sea of AI sameness similar to the pop culture scene in 2009 when Lady Gaga created the very disruptive Bad Romance.

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Because everyone’s writing and visuals have become uniform, you just need a hint of brand personality to stand out.

The great news is, it’s never been easier to stand out. Because everyone’s writing and visuals have become uniform, you just need a hint of brand personality to stand out. People might even share your content out of spite for your competitors who are flooding their feeds with AI slop.

CARPE DIEM, CARPE ANNUM

It’s time to hit the archives, discover your brand’s story, define its personality and let that shine. What does your brand do for its clients/customers? What does it help them achieve? How do they feel once they’ve achieved it? How should you bring your narrative to life visually?

In this once-in-a-decade opportunity, it’s time to have a distinct style that people can recognise without a logo. Maybe you write a bad romance. Maybe you create something even more iconic.

Throw out the old rule book – it’s obsolete. If you think rules are gonna help you stand out, you’re going about this the wrong way. You need to be bold, unapologetic, unconventional, human, authentic – and you need to do it before your competitors do.

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