We all know that perfect is the enemy of good, and that spending too much time on something rarely results in work that was worth the delay.
That's become especially clear in social media, where a "perfectly crafted" post often feels overbaked and even inauthentic—a bit like showing up at a beach volleyball outing in black tie.
Wendy's provides a fun and effective example of how speed often trumps elegance in social with this week's Twitter outing in which the brand offered to Photoshop your Twitter avatar. Obviously the resulting image was going to include some Wendy's branding, but in this case that was welcomed with open arms.
As you see in this article from my colleague David Cohen, editor of our Social Pro Daily blog, Wendy's whipped up new logos for a variety of brands (and normal folks) who opted in, including Adweek, as you can see above.
The revised avatars are silly, scrappy and juuuuust crafted enough to look like a professional made them, though not with any intent to create a masterpiece of branding.
It reminds me of one of my favorite Twitter stunts of 2019, when HBO's feed offered to create Sopranos-inspired nicknames for any user who asked, including other brands. Hopefully my bosses will never know how long I spent following the responses that came out of that one, though admittedly such things are technically my job.
While it's easy for marketers to obsess over the next hottest platform and building an audience through consistency of content, don't overlook the quick and dirty (albeit strategic and smart) stunts that drive engagement on a scale that's worth the effort.
Just be sure you follow the cardinal rule of offering to create custom content: Be ready for the flood when the social masses take you up on it.
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
david.griner@adweek.com
Dive deeper with an Adweek Pro Subscription, your key to the inside scoop on the marketing and advertising trends and reporting that guide the world's top brands.
