the end of brand guidelines

A TikTok trend starts on Tuesday.

By Wednesday, smart creators are already jumping on it.

By Thursday, it's peaked.

But most brands?

They’re still in meetings about whether participating "aligns with brand values."

By the time they’ve got approval from legal, compliance, and three different managers, the moment's gone.

They’ve missed it entirely.

And their audience has moved on to the next thing.

Imo, rigid guidelines kill the spark that makes content memorable.

Every piece of content that goes through five rounds of "brand compliance" comes out the other side... safe.

Boring.

Forgettable.

You know what people remember?

The brand that takes a risk.

That has a personality.

I'm not saying brand identity doesn't matter.

Of course it does.

Consistent visual identity, clear messaging, strong values - all crucial.

But there's a massive difference between having a brand identity and drowning in brand bureaucracy.

I think a large part of the difference is simply in trusting your team to represent your brand authentically, not perfectly.

Because chances are, most of the brands you actively follow on socials are quick, relevant, and entertaining.

They jump on trends.

They respond to current events.

They feel alive.

Something to pay attention to.

So here's the decision every marketing team faces:

Do you want to be perfectly consistent or perfectly relevant?

Do you want every post to pass brand compliance or connect with people?

Do you want to protect your image or build your influence?

📈 Creator Stocks

@abufiniin (on TikTok) just pulled off something brilliant.

He had this idea for a show about culture, identity, and friendship.

Pitched it to traditional TV channels, including the BBC.

Their response?

"Interesting idea" followed by... silence.

So Abu did what every creator should do when gatekeepers say no.

He proved them wrong.

Called his friends, booked flights to Somaliland, and said "Let's make it ourselves."

But instead of making another trauma-focused show about Africa (which he says there's already too much of), he focused on joy.

They worked real Somali jobs - filling water tanks, serving tea, catching fish.

His friends filmed everything, edited it in their bedrooms, got another mate to do cool animations.

The result being: A TV-quality series called "Kids of the Colony" now live on YouTube.

No network.

No real budget.

Just a group of friends with a vision and the determination to make it happen.

If Abu had waited for TV executives to approve his vision, sanitise his story, and fit it into their format... it would likely never have been made.

Instead, he wrote "A love letter to home" as he puts it.

Worth checking out - quality content that proves you don't need permission to tell your story.

Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱

P.S. If you're serious about building an audience that becomes a strategic asset for your business (not just a vanity metric), join us here →

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