The Brand Lifecycle

Hey

It’s Children’s Day. A moment to celebrate the little humans who see the world with wonder - and those of us who still carry a bit of that wonder inside. So yeah, happy Children’s Day.

Most newsletters today will list “The 10 Best Children’s Day Campaigns.”

I wanted to do something different. Let’s talk about brands. Not their logos. Their age.

If Brands Were People…

They’d grow up like the rest of us.

• Start-Up (Age 5–12): Curious. Scrappy. Willing to try anything. Fail fast. Learn faster. Think: Duolingo

• Teen Brand: Starts finding its voice. Stops chasing everyone. Picks battles. Gets opinionated. Think: Liquid Death

• Young Adult: Grows fast. Hits product-market fit. Adds structure. Builds teams.

  Starts saying, “We’ve always done it this way.” 🚨 Red flag. Think: Canva or even Airbnb

• Middle Age: Risk-averse. Slower. Trapped by legacy.

  Committees kill ideas. Culture kills innovation. Start hearing phrases like “on brand” and “too risky.” Yahoo. Kodak. Nokia. Boomers with logos.

Aging Isn’t Inevitable - Rigid Thinking Is

Behind every brand is a bunch of humans making decisions.

And here’s the kicker:

• When a brand is young, those humans are few and they’re down to test.

• As it grows, the number of decision-makers multiplies.

• Suddenly, a small thing - like sending an email - requires three meetings and a deck.

So the next time you’re pitching a bold idea, read the brand’s age first. Not in years—in mindset. Is it playful? Curious? Risk-taking? Or stuck in “what worked in 2018”?

One Last Thing

Today’s a good day to stop overthinking. Grab an ice cream. Call your childhood friend. Watch a cartoon. And if you’re running a brand?

Try doing something you’ve never done before.

See you next week,
Marti