During a recent process of personal evaluation and discovery, I started a list of "who I listened to." Podcasts, books, articles, and other voices with whom I found myself naturally resonating.
I did this without a real thought toward the outcome.
But as the list grew, a pattern started emerging.
Almost to a person, the voices in my list approached their topics from a "contrarian" point of view.
What is Contrarian?
A simple definition is "opposite of the norm."
"When it comes to this topic, almost everybody saying this.
But I don't see it that way. Instead, I'm saying that."
Contrarians try to find a different angle to solve problem. They look for creative responses to questions their asked. Not to be difficult, but because these alternate avenues frequently help in some way, make more sense, or even accelerate a solution by passing the conventional methods.
A Contrarian History
My family would likely attest: I've always been the one who approached life this way.
Again — not to be difficult. I'm not a "black sheep," out to cause problems. But pushing a little harder, asking challenging questions, or feeling like the "normal conventions" don't quite make sense ... makes sense to me.
Why Contrarian Helps
The more I began to identify and articulate this theme, the more apparent it was that it should become a distinctive of Big Picture Branding.
The reason is simple:
The entire goal of "marketing" is to help your brand stand out.
Stand out from who? Everyone.
Elevating you above the noise of not only your competitive space, but of every other distraction that your customers face every day.
Finding that edge requires a different thought process.
Your ideal brand positioning is likely not what you're doing now – and far from what you might imagine.
Asking different questions, evaluating your brand in a new light, finding a unique solution – requires a contrarian approach.
I Like Big Buts
"Everybody else is going that way. But we're going this way."
The hard turn in the journey is usually where real success starts to happen.
Our best clients are likely contrarian thinkers themselves and can't wait to discover the questions that open up these new possibilities.
(But – if you're not quite there yet and feeling a bit timid to take those big steps, that's ok, too. Jump in and hang on. We'll get through this together.)
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