Let’s be honest, most brands are pretty boring.
It’s not their fault, really. There are a lot of pressures to play it safe, to fit in, and to focus on numbers instead of people. But in doing that, brands often forget the whole point of content: to connect. To be remembered.
At Made By Things, we’ve spent the last 10 years helping brands escape that cycle. Not every brand is Apple or Nike, and that’s okay. In fact, I get excited when a company tells me, “We’re not that exciting.” Because that’s the moment we get to dig in and uncover the human side, the personality hiding under all that sameness.
So what actually makes a brand boring?
Boring Brands Blend In
First off, they look and sound just like their competitors. Tech, healthcare, higher ed, it’s astonishing how interchangeable these industries can look. You could swap logos on their websites and not even notice.
Boring brands also:
- Talk about themselves way too much.
- Avoid any kind of bold stance.
- Speak like robots, not people.
- Lose sight of who they’re actually talking to.
And worst of all, they’re forgettable.
In a world where we’re exposed to thousands of ads a day, your brand’s greatest threat isn’t being disliked; it’s being invisible.
The Cure? Start Acting Like a Human Again
Whether you’re building for a healthcare company, a tech giant, or a SASS startup, the path out of blandness starts the same: Know your audience and speak to them like a real person.
When we lose that clarity, we try to make something that pleases everyone. That rarely works. Instead of forming strong connections, we build weak ones with everyone.
So ask yourself: Who is our content really for? And do we actually sound like someone they’d want to hear from?
Embrace a Personality (Yes, Even if You’re B2B)
This is where positioning matters. Look at where your competitors cluster on a brand personality chart. Are they all formal and humble? Then maybe the bold and playful quadrant is wide open.
One of my go-to visuals is imagining a theater full of random people. People are often less afraid to give a generic talk that ends up connecting with nobody than one made to ONLY connect with a small audience.
Great content isn’t about being liked by the most people. It’s about being loved by the right ones.
Think Strategically
A big shift for us was realizing that making beautiful work wasn’t enough. To make a lasting impact, it had to be tied to strategy.
That’s where the sales funnel comes in—not the overly complicated kind, just a clear path: Stranger → Aware → Interested → Trusting → Customer → Loyalty
Too many brands try to skip steps. They want a stranger to become a customer immediately. Unfortunately, that only works if you’re selling gum, not software or B2B services.
Instead, create content tailored to each stage of the funnel. Help people get to know you before asking them to buy. And once they do, keep engaging them so they stick around.
Visuals Matter (A Lot More Than You Think)
This should go without saying, but stock photography isn’t helping anyone. The same applies to templated visuals and overly polished AI-generated fluff. If it looks like everyone else’s stuff, it gets treated like background noise.
Our job is to push clients out of that safe visual comfort zone. When we create something and a client says, “Whoa, that’s bold,” we know we’re on the right track. If we’re not being reined in occasionally, we’re probably not pushing far enough.
Real-life example: When we worked with Provide, their visuals felt clean but distant. They used illustrations that looked great, but were a bit generic and forgettable. We introduced character-driven illustration to bring warmth and personality. Same with Arcadia and Smile Doctors. Each brand had a spark; it just needed to be turned into something people could connect with.
Budget Isn’t the Problem. Fear Is.
We hear this one a lot: “We’d love to try something bold, but our leadership is conservative,” or “We don’t have the budget for something that cool.”
Budget matters, sure. But creativity isn’t always about spending more; it’s about doing less of what doesn’t work. Flooding the feed with 50 forgettable posts doesn’t equal one remarkable one. You have to ask: Will this do more harm than good?
The real hurdle? Fear. Fear of taking a swing and missing. Fear of doing something new when the old thing sort of still works.
But if your team is doing the same things they were doing 10 years ago, it’s time for a hard look. People change. Platforms change. Interests change. And marketing should change too.
Mistakes are part of the process. If your leadership isn’t okay with that, then you’re not just fighting fear, you’re fighting stagnation.
So, Here’s the Playbook:
- Position uniquely. Get away from the crowded center.
- Know your audience. Speak directly to them, not to everyone.
- Speak as a person. Ditch the corporate voice.
- Build a solid strategy. Align content with your audience’s journey.
- Push visuals. Don’t default to safe. Aim for memorable.
Ultimately, you don’t need to be flashy or edgy to stand out; you just need to be real. People connect with people. So give them a reason to care, and they’ll remember you.
Want help breaking your brand out of boring? Sign up for one of our three Discovery Workshops and put a new creative future for your brand in motion.
