The 100-Year-Old Strategy That Modern Brands Are Too Scared to Use

Let's cut the crap. Most online marketing is a frantic, desperate scramble for a quick sale. It’s the digital equivalent of a street hawker yelling "BUY NOW!" at everyone who walks past. It’s loud, it’s annoying, and for the most part, it’s a complete waste of your money.

You’re told to chase clicks, optimise for conversions, and ram your offer down people’s throats from the first second they see you. The result? You end up fighting over the same tiny slice of the market - the 0.001% of people ready to buy from a stranger right now. It’s a bloody, expensive battle that leaves you feeling frustrated and broke.

But what if I told you there’s a different way? A strategy so powerful it built billion-pound empires like Coca-Cola and Ford, yet modern marketers are too impatient and too scared to even try it. It’s not new. It’s not complicated. It’s just been forgotten in the mad rush for instant results.

The Ugly Truth About Why Your Ads Are Failing

Here’s a secret that the marketing gurus don’t want you to hear: the overwhelming majority of people will not buy from you the first time they see your ad. They just won’t. We all know this is true. Think about your own behaviour. Do you whip out your credit card every time an ad pops up in your feed? Of course not.

Studies show it can take anywhere from 8 to over 60 touchpoints before someone in a knowledge-based business makes a purchase. For some, it’s hundreds. Yet we marketers continue to act as if a single ad should be enough to turn a complete stranger into a paying customer. It’s irrational.

This is where the old-school advertising titans were geniuses. They understood human nature. Coca-Cola didn’t expect one TV commercial to send people stampeding to the shops. Their game was repetition. They drilled the idea of "Coca-Cola is refreshing" into our brains over and over again, until it became an automatic thought. The sale happened later, sometimes much later, but it happened because they built a brand that people knew, remembered, and trusted.

They played the long game. And they won.

Doing It Differently: Your Unfair Advantage

Let’s be honest - sometimes you need a quick win. There are moments when you need to move the needle fast, clear stock, or smash this month’s sales goal. I’m not here to sneer at that. Quick wins matter. But if your entire playbook is built on chasing one shortcut after another, you’ll end up stuck on the marketing hamster wheel -always running, never really getting anywhere.

Here’s where 'Different, Not Better' flips the script. It’s not about picking quick wins or long-term brand-building. It’s about combining them so you dominate in every arena. When you focus on building a brand that’s unforgettable, something wild happens: those quick wins don’t just get easier - they come to you, because people already know, like, and trust your name.

Be unapologetically bold with both. Nail the instant wins, but play the long game that makes every win that follows bigger, cheaper, and more effortless. That’s how you escape the cycle of being “just another option” and become the only name that matters.

Back in the day, this kind of brand-building campaign cost a fortune. Showing a single TV ad in one city could cost thousands. Today, you can do the exact same thing for pennies. You have an arsenal of tools the ad men of the 50s would have killed for: laser-focused targeting, guaranteed retargeting, and perfect tracking.

The opportunity isn’t just to copy them; it’s to do it a thousand times better and cheaper.

Instead of optimising your ads for expensive, immediate conversions, you flip the script. You optimise for cheap views and build a relationship first. You teach, you give value, and you earn trust. You stop shouting "BUY OR DIE" and start whispering, "I've got something you need to see."

Here’s how you stop chasing sales and start building a brand that people seek out.

Step 1: Create Content That Actually Teaches

Your ad is not a sales pitch. It’s a classroom. Your job is to create educational content that solves a real problem for your ideal customer. This could be a 5-minute video, a 20-minute tutorial, or even a segment from a webinar.

Don't worry about high production value. My best-performing ads have been raw, unpolished videos where the content was simply too good to ignore. The lighting was mediocre, the audio wasn’t perfect, but it worked because it delivered genuine value.

Start your video by being brutally honest: "This video is about [your topic]. If you’re not interested in that, this isn’t for you." The wrong people will click away. The right people - your people - will lean in. You’ve just qualified your audience without spending an extra penny.

Step 2: Target the Right People (and Ditch the Rest)

Your targeting should be tight. On platforms like Facebook and YouTube, you can get incredibly specific. Target people based on their interests, their search history, and their demographics.

For example, I target business owners, content marketing, and conversion marketing. This ensures my content only reaches viewers who are already primed to care about what I have to say.

And for God’s sake, turn off the settings that let platforms show your ads to people outside your targeting. They call it "Advantage Plus" or some other nonsense, but it’s just a way to dilute your audience and waste your money. You want quality, not quantity.

Step 3: Retarget with Relentless Value

Once someone has watched your content, they’re no longer a stranger. They’re a warm lead. Now, you can follow them around the internet, not with a sales pitch, but with more value.

This is where you build the relationship. Show them more educational videos. Share helpful tips in static image ads. Mention your domain name naturally and repeatedly. This is the modern equivalent of Coca-Cola’s TV ads - constant, gentle reminders that you exist and you’re here to help.

The economics of this are insane. You can get 18 different touchpoints in front of one person over a week for as little as 11 pence. Think about that. Eighteen chances to build trust, demonstrate authority, and become a familiar face. No traditional ad campaign can come close.

Why This Takes Guts (and Why It’s Worth It)

This strategy isn't for the faint of heart. It takes patience. You won’t see a flood of sales on day one. You might not see them for 30 days. The real magic starts to happen around the 60-day mark, as the momentum builds and brand recognition kicks in.

Most brands are too scared to wait. They need the instant gratification of a conversion, even if it costs them ten times more. They’re addicted to the quick hit, and they’re missing the bigger prize: building a real, sustainable brand that people trust and seek out.

This is your chance to do it differently. While your competitors are burning cash on expensive clicks and fighting for scraps, you can be quietly building an audience of loyal fans who see you as the go-to expert. You’re not just making a sale; you’re building an empire.

"Safe path fades to grey,

Dare to stand apart, ignite.

Different makes the way."

Are you ready to stop playing their game and start writing your own rules? It’s time to be different.

Ready to reject better and start being different? Let’s talk.

Or keep in touch with all my missives and more here.

John (Nick) Atkinson, The CreActivist Marketer who is Doing it Differently!