Safe and Sorry. Dr. No and the “hows” and “whys” of dull marketing content.

When you create marketing content, you can’t help but think how your boss and the rest of your company will react. 

So you play it safe.  Stick to just the facts.  No humor.  No punch. 

And while you are making sure you don’t get fired, you are also making sure that no breakthroughs will happen on your watch.  To create great content you’ve got to push the edges a bit.  And you will make mistakes. 

We see it time and again.  The marketing team appoints a committee to review a video script, blog post or case study.  Somebody on that committee (let’s call him, “Dr. No”) is worried about their job.  So they carefully expunge every element of humor or other hint of entertainment that might possibly offend. 

And when Dr. No wins, the outcome is all too predictable. 

There will be no brand personality.  Nobody will forward your content piece to their friends.  You won’t build an audience for the rest of your content. 

You have to fight for your art.  Otherwise, Dr. No can rightly say that you’re not doing your job.  And the stats will back him up.