The One Thing That KILLS Marketing Any Brand: Indifference

Brands People Love to Hate (and Why That’s the Point)

TLDR: Love and hate both build brands. Indifference kills them. If people don’t have a reason to say “We chose them because…”, you’re invisible. Better to be polarizing and remembered than safe and replaceable.

The Most Dangerous Place for a Brand Isn’t Hate. It’s Indifference.

Let’s get something out of the way right off the top.

Being loved isn’t the only win in branding.
Being hated isn’t even the worst outcome. Nope, not at all.

The real danger?
Being forgettable.

If people love your brand, they’ll talk about you.

If people hate your brand, they’ll definitely talk about you. That makes you remarkable (purple cow). Because someone has to say something about you. No one thinks RyanAir’s service is remarkable, but it is, just not in the traditional way.

But if people feel nothing?
They’ll say nothing.

And silence is where brands go to disappear.

Love and Hate Still Mean You Matter

When someone has a strong reaction to your brand, positive or negative, it means you’ve created an emotional response. If someone HATES you, there’s also probably someone who absolutely LOVES you. Reminds me of TV when I was a kid. My Mom loathed some of the shows we watched, and some, being too violent, we weren’t allowed to watch at all (as long as my Mom was home!). But when she was out, we watched the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and loved every minute of it.

Just because someone “hates” something doesn’t mean it’s inherently “bad”. Personal preference is a funny thing. As Malcolm Gladwell taught us, there are 6 major kinds of spaghetti sauce that people love. And you can’t tell someone their taste is bad because to them, it’s wonderful!

Reminds me of a Yiddish Proverb that Malcolm recites in his Ted Talk:

“To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish.”

 

Having an emotional response to something is quite normal. And that emotional response turns into stories:

• “We go back there every time because…”
• “I’d never use them again because…”
• “They’re expensive, but worth it.”
• “The service was unbelievable.”
• “I wouldn’t recommend them, and here’s why.”
• “Taste awful, and it works!”

Even criticism spreads awareness.
Even frustration keeps you top of mind.

Emotion, any emotion, creates memory. Creating a memory is one step closer toward building a brand.

Indifference Creates Nothing

Indifference is branding purgatory.

No stories.
No warnings.
No recommendations.
No referrals.

When someone asks, “Have you ever worked with them?” and the answer is:

“Yeah… I think so? I’m not sure, they were fine.”

You’ve already lost.

No one leans in when a brand is “fine.”
No one retells “fine.”
No one recommends “fine.”
“Fine” is not remarkable.

And worst of all, no one defends it.

Word of Mouth Needs a “Because”

People don’t sell your brand for you unless you give them something to say.

Not your logo.
Not your tagline.
Not your brand guidelines.

They sell your because.

• “We hired them because they actually listened.”
• “We paid more because they took ownership.”
• “We keep going back because they remember us.”
• “We chose them because they told us no when it mattered.”

If your brand doesn’t give people a reason to finish that sentence, they won’t say anything at all.

And no amount of advertising can fix that in the long term.

Before GoDaddy was well known, they were willing to be hated to be known

This commercial aired during the 2013 Super Bowl. I remember hearing about it on a marketing podcast; people were complaining about it. Then one smart strategist piped up along the lines of: “You think GoDaddy cares about how you feel about them? No, they wanted to create a moment where you HAVE to talk about them.” They just so happen to sell $10 domains on the Internet. They don’t need you to love them; you need to simply know about them.

And the results? GoDaddy posted the best sales day in their HISTORY, after they ran the “kiss” ad.

“On Brand” Is Not the Same as Memorable

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Trying too hard to be safe, neutral, and universally appealing often strips away everything that makes a brand worth talking about.

When “on brand” becomes:

• Polished
• Predictable
• Interchangeable

You’re not building trust, you’re making yourself replaceable.

And if someone can easily substitute what you do with someone else who looks, sounds, and acts the same…
They will.

Every time.

Extremes Create Identity

The brands that last aren’t afraid of reaction.

They choose:

• A point of view
• A belief
• A line in the sand

They understand that not everyone is supposed to love them, and that’s okay.

What matters is that the right people remember them.

Because memory leads to conversation.
Conversation leads to trust.
And we buy from companies we know, like and trust.

So What’s Your “Because”?

If someone had to recommend you without using your name, your logo, or your services…
What would they say?

If they can’t answer that question clearly, your brand isn’t broken.

It’s just invisible.

And in a world overflowing with options, invisibility is the only thing you can’t afford.

GoDaddy

That infamous Super Bowl ad with the audible kissing wasn’t trying to be classy.
It was trying to be unignorable.

People were grossed out.
People turned away from the TV.
People complained.
People remembered it.
People talked about it.

And GoDaddy’s response was essentially:

“Cool. Domains are $10.”

They understood something most brands don’t:
You don’t need admiration to win. You need attention plus a clear value proposition.

Pit Viper

Pit Vipers look like they were designed during a Monster Energy-fueled snowmobile rally.

People say:

• “Those are obnoxious.”
• “Why would anyone wear those?”
• “I hate them.”

And the fans say: “Exactly!!!”

Pit Viper doesn’t want to blend in.
They want to be a signal.
If you hate them, you were never the customer-and that’s fine.

That’s identity.

Hard Rock Hotel

I can still see the half Corvette in the Hard Rock in West Edmonton Mall. You couldn’t forget it once you’ve been there. Or the giant guitars they erect where a new location is going up? Or the location that is literally a giant guitar?

Is it cheesy? Yup.
Touristy? Yup.
Over-the-top? Absolutely.

Is it unforgettable?
Also yes.

Hard Rock doesn’t care if locals avoid it.
They care that travellers recognize it instantly and know what they’re getting. Then they talk about it after they leave.

Memorabilia walls.
Loud music.
Big guitars.

No confusion. No subtlety. No indifference.

How do you make water in a can stand out? Enter: Liquid Death

Canned water with skulls and death metal branding? Say no more!

Some people say:

• “This is dumb.”
• “Why is water trying so hard?”
• “I hate the branding.”

Others say:

• “Finally. Someone made water interesting.”

Liquid Death took the most boring category imaginable and made it polarizing.
That’s not an accident.
That’s strategy. When’s the last time you saw water become a fashion statement? Liquid Death has created a category all of its own.

Crocs

Let’s be honest.

People despise Crocs.

And yet:

• They’re everywhere
• They’re worn proudly
• They’re culturally unavoidable

Crocs didn’t chase cool.
They chased comfort and doubled down until the hate became part of the story.

Now the hate fuels the brand.

Ryanair – No one says they love Ryanair….or do they?

They say:

•  “They nickel-and-dime you.”
• “The service is brutal.”
• “I hate flying with them.”

And then they say:

“But it was $39!”

Ryanair isn’t trying to be premium.
They’re trying to be cheap and unavoidable. Mission accomplished.

Their social media administrator could teach a class on online communication. Just look up funny Tweets from RyanAir, and you won’t be disappointed. They know their brand and aren’t afraid to show people.

 

Nickelback – People who hate Nickelback know every lyric.

Possibly the greatest example of brand hate-as-fuel.

Mocked endlessly.
Joked about relentlessly.
Still sold out arenas for years.

People who hate Nickelback know every lyric.

That’s not failure.
That’s cultural saturation.

The Pattern Here Is the Lesson

None of these brands tried to be:

• Safe
• Neutral
• Universally liked

They chose:

• A lane
• A belief
• A personality

And they accepted the cost: not everyone will like you.

What they avoided at all costs was indifference.

“If people hate you, at least they have a story.
If people love you, they have a better one.
But if they feel nothing, you don’t exist.”

Don’t fall into the branding danger zone. You’ve been warned.