Why the word “juxtaposition” should be on every marketers’ mind
A strong modern brand has so many elements to consider when building their marketing. Strategy. Creative. Production. Editing. Strategy, again. Copy. Content. Partnerships. Performance. Etcetera. The list goes on for what feels like… forever. Because, ultimately, brands need to be everywhere to be successful. On the street, in their apps, on the mind, in their dreams, you get it. Forcing you to think wider than just social or email or Google ads or the website or your storefront (if you have one). Woof. But, you’re committed to building a cross-channel strategy. You want it to have continuity in messaging and visuals. You get the value in that for the consumer and potential shareholders (aka, biz peeps). Where the hell do you begin?
There’s no magic trick to marketing because we’d be selling it with a big ol’ bow if there was. But, there are a few general rules of thumb and evergreen themes we see in good marketing amidst the ever-changing media landscape. One of them is hard to grasp at first, but easy to keep in mind one you get it: juxtaposition, the placement of two contrasting elements side by side.
Think about it.
Most corporate brands are either buttoned up (i.e. boring) as hell or so large they lack true creativity and innovation. When you think about juxtaposing this style this that of a Gen Z creator, you may be on to something. Actually, this blog post is here to tell you that if you’re thinking that way you’re definitely onto something.
How do brands juxtapose, you ask? Let us list a few ways…
scripted to unscripted
high brow to low brow
testing and learning versus not fixing what’s not broken
lots of experience versus little experience
high quality versus lower quality
super planned to ephemeral
Juxtaposition in your marketing (from content to talent) will showcase that you, the brand, are savvy and slick enough to present yourselves as buttoned up as can be, but can also hang with the trending side of TikTok every now and again. Understanding where you, the brand, sit on the spectrum of juxtaposition is key to mastering it. One meme too many and boom — you could be toast, roasted, cancelled (that’s an article for another day).
