by Meghan Ray Virro

As marketing professionals, we embrace rapid change and innovation. In our profession, constant evolution is essential to success. Without change we get bored, restless and stuck. If we’re changing that means we’re growing, moving forward and evolving – all positive indicators. If change feels so great to us marketing types then we can certainly convince others to love it, right?

For the majority of the population, change provokes anxiety instead of enthusiasm and excitement. What’s a marketer to do when you work with a client who is not interested in change to the detriment of their brand and/or business goals?
(As a point of clarification, I am talking about change that is meaningful, thoughtful and reflects positive growth in your company or brand. Changing for the sake of change is not always the best course of action.)

In some recent brainstorming sessions with a client it became very clear that this business owner was really uncomfortable with change. The company’s seasonal promotional materials had not been changed since the days of New Coke (and no, this is not a nostalgic brand that can afford to do this). The company logo was nowhere to be found on the piece, there was no “call to action” and by today’s design standards the piece looked completely outdated and unprofessional. This small example was the tip of the iceberg. Read the rest of this entry »