Echo Chamber Marketing: How ‘Best Practices’ Are Destroying Your Brand’s Impact
Most marketing agencies and brands aren’t failing to achieve higher growth because of bad ideas—they’re failing because they’re stuck in an echo chamber of outdated tactics and groupthink.
"If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative."
— David Ogilvy, Advertising Legend, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
Marketing has become a game of mimicry. Agencies recycle the same "best practices," championing templates and checklists that lead to forgettable, cookie-cutter campaigns. This reliance on outdated tactics has trapped them in a race to the bottom—unwittingly entering a competition of who can be the most average.
But what if the secret to groundbreaking marketing isn’t about being the most optimized or following the most tried-and-true formula? What if it’s about breaking away from these norms entirely?
How "Best Practices" Are Killing Creativity In Marketing Agencies and Brands
Look around, and you’ll see the same slogans plastered across different brands, the same color palettes, and the same tired CTAs—all created by marketing agencies or brands that are too reliant on best practices.
After over a decade of providing copywriting services to brands in countless industries, we’ve seen an alarming amount of companies crippled by relying on “best practices” as a safety net before coming to us.
They become stagnant rather than innovating and pushing their market share and revenue into uncharted territory. Relying on “best practices” too hard or being afraid to challenge the status quo, their creativity atrophies like an unused muscle.
Bottom line?
Best practices are a ceiling, not a springboard.
"If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original."
— Sir Ken Robinson, Author and International Advisor on Education
When everyone uses the same strategies, the field levels. Audiences, bombarded by lookalike messaging, become desensitized. The unique gets buried under the “optimized.”
The Real Threat Of AI Copywriting
The rapid advancement of AI tools in the marketing and copywriting space has brought a new dynamic to over-optimization and creativity.
While AI offers unprecedented data analysis, automation, and personalization capabilities, it also amplifies the risk of falling into the same traps of homogeneity and complacency.
Think about it:
With tools like Chat GPT on the scene, it’s like jet fuel has been poured onto the me-too bonfire. Suddenly, everyone seems to be “unlocking,” “transforming,” or “elevating” their audience or clients’ audience’s lives.
And when it comes to AI replacing even the best copywriting agencies?
Ironically, it has created even more opportunities for good agencies and solo writers. Because on top of the industry’s already existing challenge—where anyone can slap up a website and call themselves a “copywriter”—now the market is flooded with the aforementioned copycat copy.
Focusing on efficiency and cost-effective copy through AI has accelerated the problem of brands throwing themselves into a sea of sameness.
The Dangers of AI-Driven Conformity
AI tools like GPT-3, Jasper, and ChatGPT have become mainstream in content generation, allowing brands to produce copy faster and at scale.
However, the widespread adoption of AI for content risks creating a new layer of "safe" practices. When the algorithms are trained on existing content, they replicate patterns, phrases, and styles that are already prevalent.
The result? A new kind of echo chamber where AI-generated copy feels eerily similar across different brands and campaigns.
Why Playing It Safe Doesn’t Pay Off
“The biggest risk isn’t taking a bold stance; it’s getting lost in a sea of sameness. In a hyper-competitive market, the only way to stand out is to stop following the crowd.”
— Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, author of Everybody Writes
Creative stagnation is a real risk for brands that cling too tightly to industry norms.
Let’s look at a few high-profile campaigns that flopped because they adhered too strictly to "safe" practices rather than pushing boundaries:
Burger King's “Moldy Whopper” Campaign (2020): Burger King tried to take a bold stance on natural ingredients by showing their Whopper decomposing over time. While the idea was to promote freshness and a lack of preservatives, the campaign played it too safe because it followed the trend of “honesty marketing” without properly considering the audience's emotional response.
Instead of inspiring confidence, it left a bad taste—quite literally—by showing unappetizing, moldy food. It was a classic case of adhering to the “authenticity” trend without understanding the need for a positive brand association.
Peloton's “The Gift That Gives Back” Ad (2019): Peloton tried to stick to a feel-good, aspirational message by depicting a woman receiving a Peloton bike as a gift from her husband and documenting her year-long fitness journey.
The ad was intended to resonate with fitness enthusiasts but came across as tone-deaf and patriarchal, sparking significant backlash. The “safe” approach of targeting wellness and aspirational lifestyles backfired when it didn’t account for evolving social narratives about body image, empowerment, and gender roles.
Meta (Facebook) Rebranding and “Metaverse” Campaign (2021-2023): In an attempt to pivot and capture future digital landscapes, Facebook’s rebranding to Meta and its promotion of the “Metaverse” was meant to be groundbreaking. However, the campaign relied on vague, futuristic messaging without concrete, relatable benefits to users today.
It felt like a forced trend-following maneuver into digital transformation, but it didn’t resonate because it lacked clarity and grounded relevance. The rebrand has been criticized as confusing and disconnected from Facebook's core user base, with Meta struggling to attract interest in its metaverse vision.
Pepsi's “Soda Shop” Rebranding (2021): Pepsi tried to capitalize on nostalgia by launching its “Soda Shop” flavors, reminiscent of the 1950s. While nostalgia marketing was trendy, Pepsi's attempt felt like a rehash of old ideas rather than a fresh take.
The campaign failed to resonate with younger audiences who didn’t connect with the retro theme and were more interested in bold, new experiences. It’s another example of playing it safe by following a trend without adding a distinctive twist.
These campaigns show that sticking to the status quo creates missed opportunities and can put thousands (or, in this case - MILLIONS) of dollars in ad spend at risk.
Over-Optimization: When Tinkering Kills the Message
Marketers have become obsessed with over-optimization—endlessly tweaking copy, running A/B tests, and measuring every click as if they’re chasing some elusive “perfect” version.
The reality?
Constant optimization can dilute the original message and strip the soul out of your copy.
Every tweak is a reaction to a micro result, not the macro impact. While you're busy adjusting the font size or color, you miss the bigger picture—the emotional resonance that compels action. There’s a point where optimization meets diminishing returns, where chasing incremental gains leads to a net loss in brand impact.
AI and the Myth of Perfect Optimization
AI promises to automate the optimization process further, analyzing vast datasets to find what might appeal most to a segment of users. However, the downside is that AI needs the instinctual human touch that understands the nuances of storytelling and emotional engagement.
Over-reliance on AI to perfect copy can lead to technically optimized but emotionally flat content—content that may perform well in A/B tests but fails to build a lasting connection with an audience.
The risk here is that AI-driven optimization often leads to "sanitized" messaging that lacks boldness or risk. AI can tell you what worked yesterday, but it can't predict tomorrow's breakthrough ideas.
The Cost of Data Overload
“Optimization is a game of inches; differentiation is a game of miles. While everyone else optimizes for the next click, you should be thinking about how to capture the market’s imagination.”
— Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern, author of The Four and Post Corona
A classic example of the dangers of over-optimization is Coca-Cola’s ill-fated “New Coke” launch in 1985.
Based on focus group data and taste tests, Coca-Cola decided to tweak its iconic formula, believing that it was optimized for modern tastes. However, it overlooked the deep emotional connection people had with the original Coke.
The backlash was swift and brutal, leading Coca-Cola to revert to the original formula quickly. The brand learned that data can sometimes blind you to the broader narrative and emotional appeal that drives consumer loyalty.
This is the “too much data” problem.
Marketers get lost in granular statistics and lose sight of the broader story. True engagement isn’t built on minor tweaks but on compelling, resonant messages that cut through the noise.
The Psychology of True Persuasion
“We are not rational creatures; we are predictably irrational. To influence people, you must appeal to their cognitive biases and understand how they make decisions in real life, not just in theory.”
— Dan Ariely, behavioral economist, author of Predictably Irrational
If you really want to move people, you need to understand how they think and behave—beyond the basics. It’s about leveraging principles from behavioral economics, such as:
Hyperbolic Discounting: The tendency for people to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed ones. Apply this to your copy by emphasizing instant gratification—immediate value, quick wins, right now. Think of Amazon’s “Buy Now with 1-Click” button that eliminates any friction between desire and purchase.
Loss Aversion: People fear losses more than they value gains. Craft copy that frames your offer as the solution to avoid a significant loss, not just gain something new. Insurance companies use this principle masterfully by focusing on what you stand to lose without their protection rather than what you gain by signing up.
Cognitive Dissonance: Create tension between what your audience believes and what they experience. The discomfort compels them to seek resolution—ideally through your offer. Apple’s bold, disruptive ads often challenge consumers to think differently, playing on the discomfort of sticking with the status quo.
Strategic Silence: Say More by Saying Less
“In a world saturated with noise, sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is say nothing at all. The space you leave can often say more than the words you use.”
— Ryan Holiday, media strategist, author of Trust Me, I’m Lying and The Obstacle Is the Way
Most copywriters are terrified of leaving gaps in their messaging—afraid that the audience will get lost if they don’t spell everything out. But sometimes, less is more. Strategic silence can be a powerful tool.
When you leave just enough unsaid, you create curiosity gaps. The brain hates incomplete information. It drives people to seek answers, lean in, and engage. And that’s where you capture them—not by bombarding them with details, but by knowing when to pull back.
Scarcity as an Art Form
This means going beyond slapping “limited time only” on everything.
It’s about making your audience feel that your offer is rare, exclusive, and slipping away.
This requires finesse—creating a scarcity narrative that’s credible and rooted in reality. Luxury brands like Rolex or Hermès maintain exclusivity by not overselling scarcity but instead creating an air of genuine uniqueness and rarity.
The Hidden Power of ‘Negative Space’ in Copywriting
Taking the idea of silence further, think about ‘negative space’—not in design, but in narrative. Negative space is the deliberate choice to omit certain details, allowing the audience’s mind to fill in the gaps. This leads to higher engagement and more personalized interpretation.
Brands like Tesla use ‘negative space’ in their product launches, sharing only minimal details but letting the community and media fill in the gaps, creating buzz and excitement.
Real-World Examples: When Breaking the Rules Pays Off
Apple's Masterclass in Silence: Known for saying little and letting the world speculate, Apple’s strategic silence builds intrigue, so when they finally reveal, people are ready to pounce.
Tesla's Grand Vision: Tesla’s communication isn't always about the here and now; it’s about the grand vision, the possibility, and the dream. This ties directly into cognitive biases that drive engagement far beyond the average.
Nike's “Dream Crazy” Campaign: Rather than following typical motivational ad tropes, Nike leaned into controversy and polarized audiences. They used cognitive dissonance—presenting ideas that didn’t align with everyone’s beliefs—to create a powerful, lasting impact.
Old Spice's Absurd Rebranding: The Old Spice campaign went against all the "best practices" for a brand in its category. The bold, absurd, and unexpected pivot broke through the noise by intentionally avoiding "safe" choices.
How to Break Free from the "Best Practices" Trap
Ready to rethink everything you’ve been told about marketing? Here’s how you can start applying these principles today:
Re-Evaluate Your Playbook: Strip your current strategy of anything that feels overly familiar or safe. If everyone is doing it, why should you?
Embrace Risk with Purpose: Introduce a framework for calculated risks. You don’t have to be edgy or controversial for controversy’s sake. You have to hone in on the gap in the market narrative and fill it with something bold.
Use “Strategic Silence” in Your Next Campaign: Apply negative space and scarcity without losing clarity. Learn when to let the audience do some of the thinking.
The New Paradigm: Are You Ready?
“Schwenky’s copywriting and creative direction combines speed with a sharp focus on conversion. One of the first projects we hired them for more than DOUBLED our client’s landing page conversions (29.54% vs. 12.56%) and cut their CPA in half! Schwenky is our new go-to for impactful, conversion-focused copy.”
— Rachel Banta, Founder @ weareelevated.co
The next evolution in copywriting isn't about being louder, faster, or more frequent.
It’s a call to be bolder and brave enough to break the rules everyone else is blindly following. The clients we work with aren’t afraid to challenge these norms—they’re ready to redefine them.
If that’s you, let’s talk.