Clarity is the Work

Most marketing challenges aren't about creativity; they are about clarity.

When teams struggle to deliver their work, it's rarely due to a lack of ideas. Instead, it often stems from an inability to answer a few basic questions: Who is the target audience? What do they truly need? What steps should they take next?

While clarity may not seem exciting at the moment—it doesn't spark brainstorming sessions or go viral—it is what enables good ideas to withstand real-world challenges.

I've observed brands pursuing clever language, intricate frameworks, and constant reinvention when what they genuinely required was alignment: clear positioning, clear priorities, clear ownership, and clear next steps.

The most successful marketing campaigns I’ve been involved in didn't begin with a grand idea; they started with the removal of ambiguity. Once everyone understood the problem in the same way, creativity flowed naturally.

This is why crafting simple messaging can be challenging. It necessitates decisions, requires trade-offs, and involves saying no to ideas that almost fit.

However, clarity has a compounding effect. It accelerates processes, enhances creativity, and simplifies execution while making results easier to measure.

When something isn't working, I’ve learned to look at clarity first—not the channel, not the creative aspects—but the clarity that underpins it all.

That’s often where the real work lies.