Build It And They Will Come

Ever seen the 1989 film, Field of Dreams? Then you’ll have seen where the phrase, ‘build it and they will come’, or a version of that, was first popularised. This also coincided with the power of positive thinking becoming more mainstream at the same time. 

Positive thinking can be powerful when building a business, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that all you need to do is create an excellent product or service, and customers will magically appear. The reality is that marketing requires consistent effort, creativity and innovation. That means time, energy and money invested in order to authentically connect with your target audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions.

In short, if you’re just building your product or service and waiting for people to flock towards it, you might wait a while. If you put the product or service out there and do nothing, a few people might find it, but your competitors are meanwhile out there creating authentic connections with their customers and creating buzz and excitement around their brand. 

Especially in today’s world, with the birth of new brands every day, it’s not enough to not think of new ways to be innovative and creative with how you’re getting your product or service out into the world. 

There are multiple ways to build a brand and get your message out there. From email marketing and social media, to effective marketing funnels and investing in content that connects with your audience, there’s always something else to try!

How do you even know where to start when there are so many platforms and tools, and you’re also trying to be innovative and creative at the same time? Nailing the foundations is a great place to start. If you can be consistent with a few things at first, whilst testing them out, you can keep building and testing over time!

Getting clear on your message, vision and purpose is absolutely vital, and you can only really do that when you create the space and time to gain clarity, so you can brainstorm new ideas on how you’re going to communicate it all in a clear way that resonates with your audience.

The Marketing Collective’s 6 steps to Marketing Clarity course will help you do just that, but you can also take inspiration from brands already out there finding new ways to reach their customers. 

Take this Oatly campaign! 👇

Photo by Oatly: brand campaign on New York City billboards, buildings towering over them in the background. One billboard reads, “What would be weirder than buying a giant billboard to promote a newsletter about an oat milk?” A smaller billboard next to it reads, “Buying two.”

OK, so not everyone has the budget for billboards in New York City, but this is a great example of a brand that stands out. Oatly have taken the marketing world by storm with their innovative campaigns and successfully created a brand that is both unique and memorable. And they have done so by focusing on creativity and authenticity intertwined with a healthy dose of humour!

If you think of oat milk alone, you might not get excited, but Oatly has managed to create a buzz around theirs! Oatly’s marketing strategy revolves around creating a strong emotional connection with their audience by presenting themselves as an alternative to traditional dairy products. 

Mention vegan products and people can switch off if they feel they are being preached to, but Oatly’s humour instantly puts people at ease when engaging with the brand. It’s much less alienating for those not wanting to be totally vegan but exploring more vegan options, flexitarianism or perhaps those who are lactose intolerant. 

It means that by the time people are ready to explore these options, they already have ‘that oat milk’ in their mind, the brand standing out with its friendly and humorous tone and unique approach.

Which brands resonate with you? What have they done differently that makes you want to return again and again? Finding brand inspiration is always a great way to spark your imagination!