Is your brand bland? Interview with Adam Morgan on the danger of dullness

style="font-weight: 400;">Morgan explains — he can recall jingles from adverts he saw when he was a child like they were yesterday — but the language has changed. Now, the key metric is trust.

“The rules around trust have changed completely,” says Morgan in an interview with Daily Maverick following a well-received presentation at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in partnership with DM on Thursday, 7 August 2025. “Brands are not exempt from that in any kind of way… because they are in their own way institutions.”

Crucially, Morgan notes that it’s not necessarily fact that drives trust in a brand — be it a personal or a business brand — but rather that emotional resonance matters as much, if not more, than factual accuracy.

Citing examples of global political figures who are fact-checked constantly without a measurable negative impact to their base, Morgan states that even when statements can be factually incorrect, “there’s a very high degree of trust between them and their base... it’s being seen, and being represented”.

As demonstrated by many political leaders worldwide, these figures are not necessarily separate from the way in which a business represents itself.

They are a brand in and of themselves — and there are lessons to be learnt from that.

Read More: Inaugural launch of Executive Programme in Media Leadership to tackle SA media’s pressing challenges

Pixar and the metric of trying

The conversation turns from politics to Pixar, and from dominance to relatability. When asked what makes people resonate with brands, Morgan points to an insight drawn from the world of animation: that audiences root for characters who are seen to be trying, not necessarily succeeding.

“The whole story arc of a Pixar story is not about being successful. It’s about, when I get what I thought I wanted, I discover it wasn’t what I really wanted at all... We all root for them because we think they’re really trying… people root for challengers because they think they’re really trying.”

For Morgan, this idea of “trying” extends well beyond animated storytelling — it’s a lens through which audiences interpret effort, vulnerability and authenticity.

In a world saturated with polish and perfection, it’s the signs of genuine human effort that foster connection. 

“That’s where trust begins to build — when people see themselves in the struggle.”

What makes something dull

This, for Morgan, is where so many brands falter. They try to be safe, universal and technically correct, but in doing so they become bland. They forget what made them distinctive. They lose the confidence to frame their message in a way that connects.

At its core, dullness is not a failure of content, but a failure of framing and risk appetite. Morgan references a UK school that struggled to get children interested in a mathematics club, launched over lunch, which drew zero attendance.

Rebranded as a puzzle club with the same content, it filled the room. Marketing – and messaging more broadly, can be perceived as much the same. 

“The content was exactly the same, but they just changed the frame around it,” said Morgan.

The key push and pull

This all culminates in a central tension: How much do you bend toward what your audience expects, and how much do you hold to your core identity? For media organisations, brands or institutions, Morgan notes the importance of choosing a stance.

“A brand for everybody is a brand for nobody. We’re going to make some choices, and we’re going to sacrifice and overcommit, and that’s a key part of being a challenger.”

What business can learn

Bridge the gap and get closer to your customers — and this can be quite literally. Morgan recalls how a reluctant CFO from a major food brand spent two hours with a single mother trying to stretch her paycheque to feed her kids.

“It completely changed that CFO’s relationship with what they were doing with the money that they were spending.”

Businesses, he argues, have grown too efficient. Too siloed. Too distant. 

“Lots of things we’re talking about are inherently inefficient... it is about putting in discretionary effort and finding new ways to get people out of their lanes all across our businesses and connect with people.”

Surprisingly, Morgan had some key takeaways and parallels for the media environment as well, outlining a familiar triad with a unique take: scoop, angle or voice. While every publication must excel in at least one aspect, he notes that it’s equally important to understand the manner in which media connects with readers — citing examples of publications he both respects and supports, but nevertheless sometimes struggles to continue to read as the manner in which they communicate is too one sided — not in terms of angle, but in the way in which they make the reader feel. 

“You either need to have a voice that really speaks to me, or you need to have an angle that is genuinely different.”

In the end, Morgan’s message is less about marketing tactics than it is about human connection. Whether in boardrooms or newsrooms, the organisations that win trust are those willing to show effort, take risks, and be seen to be trying. Not perfect, not omnipresent — just present.

In an era of noise, polish and cynicism, trying might just be the boldest brand strategy of all. DM