Don’t be 'brave', just be authentic

Jeremy Bullmore

This article argues that marketing directors can earn a reputation for courage while simultaneously minimising risk.

Don't be 'brave', just be authentic

Jeremy BullmoreWPP

Marketing directors can earn a reputation for courage while simultaneously minimising risk, suggests Jeremy Bullmore.

It continues to defeat me why advertising agencies so persistently urge their clients to be brave.

When Yes Minister's Sir Humphrey Appleby congratulated Jim Hacker on the courage of his decisions, it was clear to everyone (except Jim Hacker) that being brave to a civil servant meant taking an unnecessary risk that was predictably certain to backfire.

In much the same way, when clients are urged by their agencies to show courage in their...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands