A true north needs a due south: Why creativity needs a nemesis
Most brands are keen to tell us all what they stand for, but how many are willing to stand up for it?
Alex Myers, founder and CEO of Manifest Group asks why aren’t more brands showing up to tackle real problems?
Back when I started Manifest in 2009, everybody wanted to be ‘disruptive’. Then it was ‘purpose-driven’. Now ‘culturally relevant’. The clichés change but the meaning doesn’t. There is a tacit understanding that in order to build a brand, you have to matter. And like it or not, mattering — in cultural terms — is measured in change.
It’s surprising then, that so few brands actually challenge cultural norms or measure the change they inspire. It’s not enough to know what you’re creating, you have to know what to destroy to achieve it. If your brand follows a ‘true north’, it only matters because it’s moving away from a ‘due south’.
A lighthouse is only a lighthouse because there are rocks.
