Brands that win are clearer, not louder | MarTech

"Signal theory says that every action a company takes sends a signal to the market, and customers interpret that signal to judge risk, credibility and intent. These two people I'm low-key fixated on are clearly sending signals to the world. They want people to see them and say, 'Look at that beautiful young woman,' and 'Wow. That guy must be a big deal.' But if you're a little judgmental like I am, that's not what you think."

"That's the problem with poorly constructed signals. They communicate the opposite of their intention - and that matters enormously for marketing. Intentional communication is the bedrock of effective marketing. That's what novice marketers miss. They are like this man and woman, chasing youth, relevance and status. But to their customers, it reads as desperation."

"In 2014, #WhyIStayed became a popular hashtag on Twitter among domestic abuse victims following the Ray Rice scandal, which brought domestic abuse front and center into American culture. The tweets shared by victims and their supporters were raw, emotional and vulnerable in a deeply personal way. It was a human discourse on abuse. Amid this deeply personal dialogue came an ad for frozen pizzas."

Signal theory demonstrates that every action sends messages interpreted by audiences to assess risk, credibility, and intent. Individuals attempting to project youth and status through excessive cosmetic procedures and luxury brands often communicate desperation instead. Novice marketers make similar mistakes by chasing relevance without understanding their audience's interpretation. Effective marketing requires intentional communication that aligns signals with genuine brand values. DiGiorno's 2014 tweet during the #WhyIStayed domestic abuse awareness campaign exemplified this failure, inserting a pizza advertisement into serious personal discourse about abuse, resulting in swift public backlash and demonstrating how misaligned signals damage brand reputation.

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