It starts when it's only yours.
An idea, a name on the back of something, a reason to get up early. Soon it has to walk into a room full of strangers, and it only gets to do that for the first time once.
Launching a new brand
Then comes the day it goes out.
You've spent months on something people will judge in seconds. So it has to be obvious, and it has to be worth repeating.
Launching a product
Somewhere, a thumb stops.
Someone's scrolling past everything. For half a second, they stop. Everything you post is trying to earn that half second.
Getting noticed on social
Now and then, everyone looks up.
A launch, a season, an anniversary. You get a day when people are actually paying attention, and most brands spend it saying what they always say.
Running a campaign
Someone looks you up.
They've heard your name. It's late, they're on their phone, and they'll make up their mind before they've finished scrolling. You won't be in the room. Your website will.
Rebuilding your website
And one day it isn't you any more.
The business grew up and the brand didn't. It's an uncomfortable moment, and usually the best one, because now you get to start again.
Outgrowing your brand
Moments
It only takes a moment
Nobody remembers a brand's whole life. They remember moments: the first time they saw it, the day it changed, the thing it did that they told someone about. Here's how a life goes.