What brands can learn from Englands semi-final woes?

The Art & Science of Memorability

For 50-odd minutes England looked like a team who'd finally figured it out.

Speed. Pressure. Purpose. And it paid off, Anthony Gordon connecting with a peach of a cross from Morgan Rogers, putting it in the back of the net and giving England fans a rare and unfamiliar feeling: this might actually happen.

But an all too familiar theme seemed to creep into their game from there on out.

They stopped doing the thing that had put them ahead and started doing the thing that felt safer. Shutting up shop and setting about playing safe, passive and totally unforgettable.

What was the plan? Who knows.

Argentina scored twice in ten minutes and are now heading to the final.

Besides another England fall, what stuck with me from the game was what Harry Kane said afterwards: "Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on which at this level is just not enough, so I'm gutted."

Why? Because there's a valuable lesson for brands to take away from this.

There's a time and a place for holding on and playing it safe. This wasn't it.

And in the world of brands and ever evolving categories, playing safe isn't always a safe option. Because when everyone around you is pressing forward, injecting energy, hunting for daylight, playing safe is how you lose. The world your brand lives in is Argentina in the 80th minute. Pressure. Intent. Energy. Memorable.

Get that right and people remember you. Get it wrong and they don't.

It's what we've been saying for years and still say now. The brands people remember are the ones that grow. Play safe and you get forgotten. Get bold and you get bought.

The brands that keep pressing when everyone else starts to hold on are the ones that get remembered. Want to know how your brand can avoid playing it safe? Have a look at our free Brand Memorability Hacks playbook.