Don’t Just Make It Work – Make It Happen!

On a recent episode of Project Runway (one of my very favorite TV shows), designer Isaac Mizrachi offered the following gem of a statement (meant as a take-off on mentor Tim Gunn’s encouraging “Make it work!”).  To be an all-star, Mizrachi insists, it’s not enough to “make things work” – you need to make things happen!

“By developing a unique and recognizable brand identity…you can ensure that your brand stands out from the competition and is remembered by customers,” Brittany Bettini of the Forbes Business Council writes. Just as, on the fashion runway, designers strive to stand out (rather than blending in), business owners and professional practitioners need to establish a “brand” that stands out in the marketplace. Your brand identity:

1. differentiates you from competitors
2. creates a lasting impression on potential customers

It’s going to take more than offering exceptional customer service, JP Van Steertgeghem cautions in a LinkedIn piece. There are no shortcuts to greatness, but it’s important to create and share engaging, interesting, and valuable content.

Just as Mizrachi was stressing to the fashion design contestants, Kasey Murphy tells entrepreneurs in the the wesayhowhigh.com blog to “be bold” in their marketing campaigns. In a crowded marketplace, Murphy stresses, it’s essential to make your brand stand out through bold marketing campaigns that “shine brighter”.

“The one that stands out is in essence the one that is not like the rest,” onsightapp.com agrees. “When people cannot distinguish brands from each other, they cannot form reliable relationships with those brands.” Not only does an effective brand have a well-outlined target audience, it may even offer a service or product exclusively to that target audience.

As a frequent viewer of the show, I couldn’t help noticing a recurring theme in the conversations among the designers and the judges of project runway challenges about designers “staying true to their own aesthetic in developing runway-worthy garments. In marketing content, we understand at Say It For You, it’s crucial to let the personality of the owners and providers “shine through”. 

In my 2020 post “Don’t keep yourself a secret in your blog,” I was alluding to showcasing  the “aesthetic” of the people behind the brand, revealing not only what they have, what they do, and what they know how to teach others to do, but offering a glimpse into their  personalities..

In content marketing, in short, it’s important to do more than just “make it work”.  We have to make it happen!