The Vital Need To Adapt – In Business and Marketing

Welcome to Maker Corner, our series where we feature guest contributions to our blog from QuickFrame makers.

This month’s post is written by Brennan Strader, Manager Director, Capture Films.

---

The mentality “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is not only prominent in the minds of individual but also companies – even large established brands. The larger a company grows, the more difficult it is to change.

While a few business principles last a lifetime, many aspects of product innovation, target demographics, and marketing strategies must change, especially in our ever-evolving digital world.

The longevity of a brand has little to do with its age, revenue, or size and everything to do with its ability to adapt and innovate to the world around us. A company that doesn’t change gets left behind. We’ve seen this with Blockbuster, Sears, MySpace, and many other massive companies.

Brian Smith, the founder of the footwear brand UGG, originally made sheepskin boots, slippers, and sandals for surfers. Due to a strategic brand repositioning, UGG transformed into a female-focused, high-end luxury footwear maker. If the brand never adapted, Smith would still be selling UGG boots to surfers on the beach out of his van.

It’s Time to Embrace Change

Albert Einstein once said, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” This is especially true when it comes to advertising. With rising platforms like TikTok, brands must innovate their ad creation and expand their advertising channels.

We noticed this firsthand with our video agency. We initially launched with a focus on tv commercials and highly-produced ads. As the demand for TikTok User-Generated content grew, we debated whether to adapt to the new age of ad creation or stay stagnant. UGC Is the opposite of what we initially produced; it was scrappy, poorly produced, and often filmed on phones, not cinema cameras. At first, I wanted nothing to do with these user-generated ads. It went against the big screen vision behind why we started in the first place. After talking with my team, we all realized if we didn’t change, we would get left behind.

We decided to open our doors to native ad creation. This was one of the smartest moves we made as a business. Our company now has an entire UGC division, allowing us to create both high-end commercials and user-generated ads.

In the same way that we adapted to new ways of ad creation, companies big and small also need to adjust their advertising.

TikTok is at the forefront of a new age of social entertainment. With reels and phone-filmed videos flooding TikTok, brands must look and feel native to the platform.

In the same way, cable ads wouldn’t work on Instagram; Facebook ads don’t work on TikTok. You’ve got to know your audience and the platforms you’re trying to reach them on.

“No longer can marketers continue using demographic targeting the way it’s used today—they must now incorporate consumers’ mindsets into the advertising strategy,” John Cosley, senior director at Microsoft Advertising, says. “It’s a case of throwing out the playbook and no longer running on digital marketing autopilot. Your customers have moved on, but have you?” It’s time we turn off autopilot on our marketing rocket ship and embrace innovation. Because sometimes you need to fix what isn’t broken.

---

Brennan Strader is an award-winning filmmaker and seasoned entrepreneur passionate about helping brands grow. With over a decade of experience in the film and advertising industries, he wears both business and creative hats. After founding several successful startup companies, he now manages Capture Films, a video agency that connects strategy with creativity.