In the digital age, people have access to more content than ever, but they are losing their identities in the process. Identity is fluid, attention is fractured, and personality is dictated by the latest trend or popular product. We chase aesthetics like âold-moneyâ or âclean-girlâ. Our opinions, personalities and interests swing like pendulums between whateverâs currently viral and whatâs been cancelled. But now, our âFor You Pagesâ or feeds have become the same with memes, challenges or trends.
Brain rot is stronger than ever
This phenomenon is the result of brain rot. Something so infectious that last year, it was named Oxford Word of the Year. The definition reads: âthe deterioration of a personâs mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging.
Brain rot causes a loss of substance and focus. Itâs caused by low-quality, hyper-stimulating content only made to make you scroll. Because of this, people begin to mimic the content they consume, adopting the voices of influencers, brands and memes until they lose focus on what they think and feel. I mean, wasnât there just a discussion about how influencers are all the same?
The infection is spreading
As brain-rotting content evolves, we erode. And brands are not immune.
Too often, we see a brand focus its social strategy on relevancy over identity. This is where brands can slip into creating brain-rotting content. Chasing TikTok trends, copying competitors, and manufacturing virality. Sound familiar? This is what too many brands look and strive for because thatâs what âworksâ. And what I mean by âworksâ is that it causes short-term spikes in activity. It has become the new meaning of success.
"The only cure for brand rot is a focus on identity".
The result? A slow decay of brand identity. Legacy companies dilute their message by trying to appeal to everyone, using AI-generated TikTok voices and creating multiple âeffectsâ, âaestheticsâ, or âcoresâ to increase clicks, likes, and engagement. Just have a look at Jaguarâs change of logo, the long-standing fashion house of Diorâs TikTok page or Instagram itself with Reels and Stories. Logos change, voices change, identities change. The problem is, by replicating social trends, brand identities are getting closer together, not further apart.
Introducing Brand Rot
Introducing Brand Rot: The gradual devolution of a brandâs soul as it chases trends instead of truth, leading to a disenfranchisement of its audience.
The only cure for brand rot is a focus on identity. Not just the appearance of one, but one that is long-standing. Itâs not more trend-chasing or influencer partnerships. Itâs not an AI-generated ad campaign designed to beat the algorithm. Itâs definitely not another rebrand. Identity needs to be something that doesnât shift with the wind. The kind that knows where it came from, and more importantly, why it exists in the first place.
To fight brand rot, companies need to stop thinking about chasing different âcoresâ or aesthetics, but think about rediscovering their core. Not a value written in a dusty mission statement, but the true reason people ever cared in the first place. How did your brand become popular in the very beginning? What made you beat your competitors? How did you stand against the test of time? This way, you earn authentic attention over jumping on the latest trend.
Challenging the âBrand Rotâ epidemic
Rediscovering yourself is the first step. The next step is to find the trends and technologies that are relevant to your brand and your audience. The truth is: not all evolution is progress. The Victorians were right to fear de-evolution, but at least they were aware it could happen. Most brands today arenât. Theyâre devolving in real time- into shallow, trend-addicted versions of themselves without even noticing the rot has begun.
Thatâs where challenger brands win. Theyâre bold, have attitude and arenât sticking to the status quo. Being a challenger brand isnât difficult when the status quo means doing the most or hopping onto every trend or sound. To be âbrand blazingâ, doing more means doing less- as long as youâre fully committed to the bit. Donât play it safe and go all in.
The thing is, the brands that utilised brand rot aeons ago used to be challengers- think Duolingo and Ryanair. Then everyone followed with the same jokes and Gen Z behaviours. In this era, being a challenger brand doesnât mean going even more extreme and more witty and more comical.
A challenger brandâs role is to go against the tide, be radical and transformative. Itâs not to say that brain rot content shouldnât exist and brands shouldnât delve into it. Challenger brands just need to be selective.
Work social media into your identity, donât work your identity into social media. Work smarter, not harder.
Ask yourself if your brand were a person, what would they do and what wouldnât they do? Donât try to be something youâre not; if youâre old-fashioned, if youâre more mature, if youâre a bit nerdy, embrace it. If you donât see your brand using TikTok, posting a certain carousel, or using slang, donât feed into the pressure of posting for the sake of posting. Embrace your identity. Thatâs still cool, just in a different way.
By being true to yourselves, being radically authentic and standing firm in your identity, the challengers wonât just survive the brand rot epidemic, but cure and rise through it.
By Ellie Hou Strategy Sidekick at SuperHeroes Creativebrief