Remember when the ’85 Bears were pure magic—bold plays, big personalities like Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan, and a defensive strategy that no one could match? Fast forward to this past NFL season for the Bears, and it was a different story: lots of hype, a ton of noise, but nothing at all to show for it.

That, in a nutshell, is where marketing finds itself in 2025. Loud? You bet. Everywhere? Constantly. But memorable? Rarely. Much like the Bears’ offense this season, most brand campaigns are all motion, no momentum.

Marketing used to be like a well-planned family dinner. You had a handful of voices around the table, sharing meaningful stories, taking turns, and actually listening. These days? It’s a 30-person Thanksgiving free-for-all where everyone’s yelling over each other about their gluten-free stuffing, and no one remembers who brought the turkey.

We’ve mistaken volume for value, presence for purpose, and posting for strategy.

Let’s break it down.

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The Wallpaper Effect: Why Most Campaigns Are Instantly Forgettable

Open your feed. Scroll for 30 seconds. Now—can you remember a single ad you just saw?

That’s the problem. Most brand campaigns today blend together like beige paint. We’re surrounded by creative that’s “on brand,” “safe,” and completely interchangeable with five other brands in the same category. It’s not that the work is bad—it’s just not memorable. And in the attention economy, forgettable is fatal.

As Ehrenberg-Bass Institute found, up to 75% of advertising isn’t remembered even minutes after it’s seen. That’s millions of dollars poured into campaigns that generate no meaningful memory or emotional connection.

Why? Because we’ve built a culture of approval-driven creativity. If the client, the boss, the platform, and the procurement team all say “yes,” you’ve probably made something no one will remember.

“The opposite of remarkable isn’t bad. It’s very good.” – Seth Godin

💡 Tip: Take a risk. Challenge the brief. If your campaign doesn’t make at least one stakeholder uncomfortable, it probably won’t make anyone else feel anything either.

➡️ Related read: Marketing Metrics and the Myth of Meaningful Data

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The Cult of Metrics: Measuring What Doesn’t Matter

We’ve become obsessed with numbers. Likes, views, impressions, CTRs—there’s a dashboard for everything. But here’s the rub: not all metrics matter, and the ones that do often get ignored.

Too many brands confuse performance reporting with performance thinking. We chase high-volume KPIs because they’re easy to quantify, not because they actually tell us anything about impact, trust, or long-term value.

What’s the point of hitting 100,000 impressions if none of it leads to action—or worse, if no one remembers the brand behind the message?

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” – William Bruce Cameron

Vanity metrics are the junk food of marketing. Quick hits of validation that ultimately leave your strategy undernourished. And when the C-suite starts mistaking dashboards for direction, creativity becomes a casualty.

💡 Tip: Reframe what “success” looks like. Is it reach—or resonance? Is it impressions—or impact? Track fewer things, but track the right ones. Brand lift. Share of search. Repeat engagement. Referral traffic. These tell a deeper story than any spreadsheet can.

➡️ Want more on this? Check out our post: Marketing Metrics and the Myth of Meaningful Data

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Platforms Ate Your Strategy: When Media Buying Became Button Clicking

Remember when media planning was a real craft? When planners debated placements, context, and cultural relevance? Now, it’s mostly automated inputs and algorithms chasing impressions.

85% of all digital display ads are now bought programmatically, according to Statista. That’s a staggering number—and while automation has brought efficiency, it’s also brought sameness. Everyone’s targeting the same audiences, in the same places, at the same time.

We’ve allowed platforms to eat our strategy. Instead of asking, “What do we want to say, and to whom?” we ask, “What can we afford on Meta this week?”

“If you’re doing the same thing as everyone else, you’re invisible.” – Rory Sutherland

💡 Tip: Bring strategy back into media. Think beyond platform defaults—invest in placements that align with the tone, context, and attention of your audience. Don’t just show up where it’s easy. Show up where it matters.

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The Volume Trap: Why Brands Say Too Much, Too Often

At some point, the algorithm convinced us that silence meant failure. That if your brand wasn’t posting every day—on every channel—you were invisible. So, we got busy. Really busy. Pushing out updates, memes, awareness days, and recycled thought leadership just to keep the feed alive.

But let’s be honest: most of it isn’t landing.

Not because it’s wrong, but because it’s relentless.

In the rush to be “always on,” we’ve forgotten how to be occasionally off. Constant output might feel productive, but in reality, it often drowns out your best ideas before they ever get a chance to breathe.

“Silence is a powerful message. Use it sparingly, but strategically.” – Ann Handley

A well-timed pause can say more than a dozen posts trying to ride the latest trend. It signals confidence. Intent. Control. In a world of constant noise, restraint is radical.

💡 Tip: Try a “content sabbath.” Pick one day a week where your brand says nothing. No posting, no pushing—just listening. Pay attention to what your audience reacts to organically. Let insight guide your next move, not the pressure to stay visible.

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When to Speak, When to Shut Up: The New Art of Strategic Silence

Not every trend needs your take. Not every moment is a marketing opportunity.

Strategic silence is becoming a powerful tool. The brands that know when to not speak often earn more trust than those that leap into every hashtag holiday or social justice soundbite.

Look at Patagonia. Or In-N-Out. Or even Apple. They don’t overshare. They speak when it matters—and their silence gives weight to their words.

“Saying less can be more provocative than screaming from the rooftops.” – Bozoma Saint John

💡 Tip: Audit your last 30 days of content. Ask: Which posts were necessary? Which ones added value? Which ones were just… filler? Then cut 20%. Your audience (and your content team) will thank you.

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What Smart Marketers Are Doing Differently

Now, let’s be clear: some folks are getting it right. Here’s how they’re turning the tide.

1. Fewer campaigns, more clarity

Stop launching a new message every week. Invest in fewer ideas—and go deeper.

2. Taking strategic risks

Whether it’s creative, channel, or audience targeting, boldness still wins.

3. Building non-algorithmic channels

Newsletters, events, podcasts, SMS—places where you own the relationship.

4. Still buying media—but buying smarter

It’s not about volume. It’s about context.

Smart brands are shifting media dollars into higher-quality placements with real attention value. They’re ditching clickbait banners for high-impact native ads, branded editorial, and contextual environments that align with the brand’s tone and values.

They’re also using first-party data from their own sites and channels to better target—not chasing third-party crumbs in a crumbling cookie world.

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🧪 Case Study: Warby Parker

Warby Parker didn’t outspend competitors—they out-thought them.

• They built an owned media ecosystem, from showroom email flows to their thoughtful blog
• They leaned into storytelling, not slogans
• They bought media selectively, choosing moments that matched their identity

They weren’t everywhere—they were exactly where they needed to be.

📖 More on Warby Parker’s strategy here

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Conclusion: The Future Belongs to the Quietly Bold

Marketing doesn’t need to be louder. It needs to be smarter. It needs to listen more, talk less, and create fewer things that matter more deeply.

Let go of the algorithm-chasing. Let go of the pressure to post just because it’s Tuesday. Let go of the idea that bigger media buys equal better results.

Instead:
🎯 Be intentional.
🎤 Be meaningful.
🔕 And sometimes—just be quiet.

If your marketing feels like noise instead of signal, it’s time to change the channel. 👉 At Bernardoni Media & Marketing, we help brands cut through the clutter with clarity, craft, and strategy that actually works. Let’s build something worth remembering.