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Dear reader,

This is my first newsletter of the year. Scratch that–my first newsletter ever. I’ve written more newsletters than I can count, but like many things in my life, they were never for me. Now, here I am typing away at you, a person that has generously decided to grace me with their attention. All I can say is that I promise to always imbue these emails with honesty, practicality, and intrigue. 

As in life, branding is a precarious balance between reinventing yourself and remaining firm. Five minutes we feel pushed to “stay fresh” and come up with new ideas; the other five we’re told that consistency is key. It’s no surprise then that most brand narratives we hear or read feel incoherent, even in the moments when they attempt to reaffirm who they are and why they do what they do. A swinging pendulum of wishy-washy energy that fosters anything but trust. 

It’s amidst this duality that brands and, more specifically, their communication leaders get lost. They’re too busy crafting the next phrase or asset to see that there is, in fact, another way. They take the overarching brand messaging they’ve been given and try to jump immediately to the product or service marketing they need to fill their calendars–with no understanding of the layers that exist (or should exist) in between. 

For this, we–the audience–have the sensation we’re seeing the same empty words flying across our screens. There’s no authenticity or real ingenuity in the content because the strategic process behind it lacks depth and intention. Why? Because depth takes more time, and intention requires more effort. Simple as that. 

Turns out, surface-level cuts deep

Most of the content-related posts I see online sound like this:

Now, these posts are not wrong. They’re not misleading or dishonest. That doesn’t mean they’re not hurtful though–or offensive, if you ask me. They take you for a fool that can get just a little bite of something and feel satisfied, as if you’re starving to begin with. Someone that can receive surface-level regurgitation of what thousands of other people have said and feel grateful. 

Here’s an example of said surface-level advice (this I really found on LinkedIn, by the way):

“And the best way to stay top-of-mind, without only talking about your product or your narrative, is to create insightful and memorable content your audience will enjoy consuming.”

I bet it sounds familiar. You’ve seen it yourself a bazillion times. There’s no mention of the how. It just tells you what to do and why to do it. And doesn't it just make you want to face-palm at your screen yelling, “Yes, I got that. But how??” 

This kind of content occurs when editorial thinking stops at the level of brand narrative–be it for a large corporation, small business, or independent consultant. 

“What’s comms got to do with it?”

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen brand, marketing, and comms leaders hit this barrier. I had the conversation again just a few weeks ago, in fact. I brought up to one of my clients (a large B2B organization) that their messaging was becoming repetitive and that I had a feeling it was because the teams responsible for disseminating it didn’t really have enough to go off of. That a solid overarching narrative is essential, but those few hundred or thousand words were not giving people the specificity they needed to make truly unique–truly positioning–statements.

Like most brands, this client considered their purpose (very good), defined a narrative, wrote a paragraph for it, lightly highlighted their tone of voice throughout (we’ll leave that issue for another day), and that’s that. Then, they identified some brand themes, but mostly in the mindset of “where do we operate?” Meaning that those brand themes were created with another level in mind: products and services. 

But none of that lives without comms. What is a narrative without communication? How do we build a culture without comms? Communication (some call all of this content, but it’s much more than that) is how we embody and personify the brand on a regular basis. So, to pinpoint a narrative and tone of voice, say it aligns with our purpose and values, and then jump from there directly to products and services, is actually sending the wrong message. 

Without proper guidance, employees end up using the same small batch of words and phrases to write everything–which starts to sound pushy and repetitive real fast. Pair that with the fact that most of the marketing and campaigning that comes after the brand strategy knows very little about the between space (that space between brand narrative and products/services), and the pushiness–the salesiness–just becomes worse.

“Editorial marketing requires that you focus and stay focused in an era where distraction is probably the most rampant virus.”

Now, imagine if someone in the organization was responsible for taking your narrative further down the line to give it more breadth, to give it more coherence, while including more of your people. If they were to break it down into topics, subsequently architected upon a unique set of propositions. (THIS is where you think about how capabilities fit in support of those propositions.) To think about the regional nuances of the geographies you operate in and the thought leaders you have that can carry the torch of your brand's propositions in a personal—read: personable—way.

It's all possible, but it requires that you focus and stay focused in an era where distraction is probably the most rampant virus. It asks that you decide what you want your brand to be known for in a more specific way than what you're used to. To bet on yourself. It doesn't allow you to sit in the comfort of general terms and short campaign cycles. You have to be profound, think clearly, place your stake in the ground, and then spend the rest of your long-term career proving it—delivering on it.

Everyone is scared of having an Excel spreadsheet for their expenses, but my goodness does it allow you to breathe knowing where you're at and where you're going. That’s the value of editorial marketing. It gives you the full view. It asks that you face reality, cut the fluff, and focus on your goals. 

And with each newsletter, I’ll make sure to get you one step closer to understanding exactly how to do that. I’ll share things I’ve seen, things I’ve experienced, things I’ve read. Things you need to be an editorial thinker, writer, and marketer. 

So, pass this edition on to your team, to your peers, and to your friends, and let’s counter this AI-generated bulls**t together. I’m sure I’m not alone.

Stay human,

Flavia Barbat