Being normal is not a point of differentiation

I recently received an email from a brand manager excitedly telling me about a new promotion his company was running.

The company was sponsoring a woman’s sports team and announced in bold headlines that they were going to begin supporting this team at the same financial level they’ve supported the men’s team for years.

I told my friend that I didn’t get it. What the message here is: “Hey everyone! We’ve stopped being unfair!”

Being normal … is normal

It drives me crazy when companies spend money on ads to promote some diversity achievement or environmental milestone.

“Hey! Guess what? We’ve stopped polluting the earth!”

Being fair, being diverse, being environmentally responsible is normal. Welcome to the club. Your company is normal. Congratulations.

Get into the streets

I’ve worked for and with big companies all my life. I truly understand the pride that comes with being normal. You can finally stop hiding and covering things up.

But the rest of the world doesn’t really care, and they probably don’t believe you any way. Deep down, we know you’re promoting this because you have to, because it nudges your stock price in the right…