What To Do About Trends: The Opposite

One big thing brands struggle with is TRENDS. Do you participate like everyone else, or sit out and miss all the fun?

Here's my advice: Do the opposite.✨

Trends are hard on the psyche. They lead us to believe that everyone is doing this one thing this one way, and if we are not interested in that, then we are alone. In fact, the larger and louder a particular trend is, the more likely people are to be looking for something else.

🎶 When I was a music journalist in New Orleans, I briefly crossed paths with a man named Harold Brown. He was one of the original members of the band War. He told me one thing about starting the band that changed my life.

☮️ "It was 1969," he said. "Everyone was walking around saying 'peace,' so we thought, well then we'll be War." The band War went on to achieve wild popularity combing elements of soul, rock, funk and jazz into hits like "Low Rider," "Cisco Kid," and "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

By 1973, the band had Billboard Magazine's best-selling album of the year. 🏆

War was the perfect name for a band that was emerging from the '60s to define the sound of the '70s. They were looking for what was next.

The point is, you don’t have to talk like everybody else in your industry and do that same meme everyone else is doing. In fact, please don’t. If you want followers, don't be one.✨

If everyone’s website is pink, make yours black. If everyone’s copy is casual and clean, make yours intelligent and filthy. You’ll know you’ve succeeded when people start trying to be like you.