Three important lessons from 10months of Grow Club

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INTRODUCTION

Big news! Grow Club has blown past the 3,000 reader milestone, doubling in the last two months alone and on track to reach 10,000 readers by the end of the year. Thanks to every single one of you who has shared this newsletter over the last ten months. I still hold out hope for all those other agency folk who read every week and still refuse to share it (hell might freeze over first, mind 😂 ). Anyway to mark this milestone I thought I’d do something a little different. I thought I’d take a macro view of all that has been written so far and distil three big themes that will level up your approach to marketing. Sound good? Let’s begin…

#1 HAVE YOU GOT A PROBLEM?

Whether it be McDonald’s reminding people ‘why they were once the most loved fast food restaurant in America’ or Oatly showing ‘how milk is an inferior choice to Oatly’ the first big thing learning is better problems. What exactly do I mean? Let me explain.

When it comes to strategy there are many opinions. Some mistake strategy as a plan or a list of objectives that you do. Others mistake strategy for tactics or growth hacking (shudder). Strategy is none of these things. Strategy is a path forward, a direction you are heading towards in order to unlock new levels of commercial growth. When you understand this, you understand how powerful problems are. Why? Well, the problems you define will ultimately dictate the r strategy you follow.

The reason McDonald’s embraced a fan truths strategy, which led to a highly effective creative campaign that celebrated fan moments, is because it directly answers the problem they identified. The reason Oatly’s strategy was ‘Oatly is better for people & the planet’ and its creative work directly challenged the legacy dairy category (ie Milk but made for humans) is that once again it directly resolves the better problem they identified.

So the first learning? Avoid working with people who rush to tactics or solutions. Really spend the time identifying better problems. In fact, I would spend 70-80% of your strategic development time on this section. Why? because the better your problem, the better the strategic path forward you will find.

COMMUNITY SHOUT OUT

You know one problem I have? Loads of people working at big agencies, with 1000x the resources and money I have, reading this newsletter and never sharing it. Growing a business is hard and I need all the help I can get. Thankfully there are a handful of legends who share this newsletter. This week I wanted to give a special mention to Brett Snelgrove who not only shared last week’s newsletter but also has been a long-time supporter of the content I put out on Linkedin. Thank you so much, Brett, I really appreciate you 🙏.

Want to get a shout-out to over 3,000 CMOs, CEOS & founders next week? Simply share this week’s newsletter on your LinkedIn and write a few words about why you recommend Grow Club. Please make sure you tag me on Linkedin though, otherwise, I might not see it and not be able to shout you out.

#2 NO ONE CARES

I got it in a somewhat heated debate on Linkedin the other week, with another agency founder. The person in question was criticising the work of another agency saying it was somewhat offensive and might deter consumers from buying. Now long-time readers of this newsletter might guess my response. For those new here, let me explain.

Whether it be Dollar Shave Club’s ballsy creative approach or Duo Lingo’s somewhat unhinged approach to social media, they teach us that above all else you MUST never forget one thing. Consumers really don’t care about brands. They live busy, distracted lives and have far bigger things to worry about. However, don’t be deterred by this. In fact, once you realise this, it will 10x your strategy and marketing approach.

Once you realise this you realise your job is (above all else) is to get remembered…not to be liked. This is more than just my opinion. It is in fact backed by a ton of evidence, that shows that the biggest driver of brand growth is fame (ie getting noticed and talked about) not likeability.

When I mentioned this to the agency founder in question he got a little angry, threw his arms in the air and complained. Yet when I kept asking him to point me to the hard evidence that likeability matters…he couldn’t. So if you take just one thing away from this week’s newsletter, let it be this….don’t hold back, be ballsy and aim for fame. I mean who cares if you're liked, if no one notices you in the first place…

#3 STRATEGY MATTERS

The last point for this week’s newsletter is kind of obvious, but one I feel the need to keep hammering home. Why? Because I see the same mistakes being made time & time again.

Over the last year at Defiant, we have been lucky to work with a bunch of amazing scale-ups and bigger brands. However, one thing I have noticed time & time again is that strategy is used but misunderstood. On multiple occasions we have been brought in on a project to come up with a creative campaign, only to find the existing strategy is simply not fit for purpose. What is a ‘not fit for purpose’ strategy? Well, there are a couple of red flags to spot. First, it’s generic. The strategy doesn’t account for the competitive landscape and so ends up being too similar to every other brand. The danger here is that ultimately the strategy doesn’t offer a competitive advantage. Second, it’s too clever. The worst kind of strategy is overly intellectual and uses complex language, that to be blunt is completely useless when it comes to executing. Third, it’s boring. These strategies focus on product features or functions and don’t tap into culture. Look no matter how much you think your new health food, beverage or SaaS company….most people don’t care or will notice. You need to find a way to make them care, by tapping into big cultural conversations. Finally, strategies built with a lack of experience. I have noticed of late a lot of ‘strategists’ popping up on Linkedin lately. However far too many have little to no experience. The truth is the is a big difference between reading a book on strategy and spending time in the trenches, learning what actually works.

So this final lesson for this week is to always invest in great (not good or average) strategy. In truth, this is one of the reasons I set up ‘Grow Club’, to help cut through the bullsh*t and help everyone level up their skillset.

THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR

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CONCLUSION

I want to conclude this week with a bit of an apology. This week’s newsletter went out a little later than normal because in truth my health has been suffering a bit. Starting a business is hard and the effects of burnout are real. Thanks for sticking with me over these months…and here (hopefully) to the next 3,000 readers.

Many thanks,

Will Poskett,
Founder of Defiant