Why Marketing Leaders Get Fired

Many marketing leaders think branding is smart. According to them, competition is the goal, and creativity is award-worthy. That’s why so many of them sit at the kid’s table, disrespected as executives, and get fired faster than their peers. (Harsh, but true.)

Case in point: The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. They showered awards on Burger King, giving them stuff called the “Titanium Grand Prix” and “the very first Creative Brand of the Year.” 

Burger King has 1.16% market share. McDonald’s 21.4%.
Burger King does $10 billion in sales. McDonald’s $37 billion. 

Burger King has been stuck in the “Better Trap” for about 24,647 days, AKA 67 years. 

Also, Burger King features McDonald’s in an insane percentage of their ads. Which serves to educate consumers that McDonald’s is the Category King. 

Burger King might as well Venmo their marketing budget to McDonald’s.

Yet “creative marketing leaders” give Burger King “creative brand” awards.

This shows how deeply disconnected some marketers are from business outcomes that matter. Like revenue, market share, and market cap. 

Legendary marketing is not about creative. Legendary marketing is not about branding.

Legendary marketing is about designing and dominating a category that matters.