to participants in a never-ending cycle of hacks and tweaks: posting at“ optimal” times, engineering clickbait hooks, and flooding feeds with content that looks eerily identical. The hunger to“ beat the algorithm” turns marketers into gamblers- refreshing dashboards for signs of life, hoping the next viral spark catches before the feed buries them.
Consider the global trend of“ TikTokmade-me-buy-it.” Some campaigns work brilliantly- Duolingo’ s irreverent, mascotled chaos turned the brand into a cultural icon, not because it bent to the algorithm, but because it embraced a distinct personality that fit the platform. Contrast this with dozens of copycat brands using the same trending audio, the same forced humor, the same“ look at me” dance. The difference isn’ t the algorithm- it’ s the imagination applied to it.
In Africa, the challenge is more nuanced. Many brands, especially SMEs, rely heavily on boosted posts to survive in a saturated feed. Yet algorithm-driven desperation creates a cycle: spend more for temporary visibility, neglect long-term brand equity, and then burn out budgets on noise. The consumer, meanwhile, scrolls past indifferently. We’ ve seen Kenyan banks, telcos, and even FMCG brands sink millions into sponsored content that trends for a week and vanishes with no cultural footprint.
The deeper problem is strategic surrender. When the algorithm dictates content, the marketer becomes a servant, not a strategist. Creativity bends to convenience. Vision bends to virality. And soon, campaigns look like parodies of themselves- optimized to death, stripped of humanity.
The famine of modern marketing is not just about weak strategy- it’ s about surrendering authorship. When the algorithm owns your voice, your brand has already gone silent.
The Illusion of Engagement
On the surface, modern marketing has never been more“ engaging.” Posts rack up likes in seconds, hashtags trend overnight, and viral moments spread across continents before breakfast. But as Byron Sharp argues in How Brands Grow, awareness is only the first step. Without credibility and emotional resonance, awareness is empty.
Think of Pepsi’ s infamous Kendall Jenner ad. It went viral, sure- but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of positioning Pepsi as a brand of unity, it trivialized protest movements. The backlash cost millions in reputation damage. Engagement metrics might have looked impressive in the short term, but true connection? Zero.
In contrast, Nike’ s Colin Kaepernick campaign took the same raw tension and wove it into a narrative of sacrifice and belief. Both were loud; only one told a story worth remembering. Currently in Africa, our billboards are louder, radio ads extremely dramatic, and the influencers more flamboyant. Yet, in the noise, few brands pause to ask: Are we building trust? Are we adding value? Or are we simply adding to the noise of a crowded marketplace?
Engagement metrics are the mirage in the marketer’ s desert. They sparkle on dashboards, luring CMOs into celebrating spikes in impressions, comments, and clicks. But when measured against the ultimate test- sustained revenue, brand trust, and cultural relevance- these numbers too often collapse.
The future belongs to marketers who understand that less is more. Apple, for example, has built a trillion-dollar empire not by screaming the loudest, but by saying the least, with clarity. Instead, it crafts deliberate, sleek campaigns that align with its identity: simplicity, innovation, lifestyle. Apple understands that not all visibility is valuable- only resonance is. Their minimalistic billboards with a single image of an iPhone against a clean background stand out precisely because they cut through the noise. They do not compete with the shouting; they transcend it.
If modern marketing continues down this noisy path, we risk eroding not just consumer trust, but the very art of the craft; Storytelling. Marketing is supposed to connect, inspire, and create meaning- not confuse, overwhelm, or offend. Modern consumers are savvy; they know when conversation is manufactured. As one South African marketing strategist once quipped,“ Hashtags can trend. But trust cannot.”
The noise, then, is not just a nuisance- it is a crisis. And until marketers recognize it as such, we will continue to see campaigns that generate buzz but destroy brand equity. They reveal not just bad habits, but a systemic weakening of marketing’ s very core. The question now is: what does this famine cost us- our brands, our consumers, and the culture we claim to serve?
What is the cost of this Imbalance?
Pricing Dilemma
When everything looks the same, marketing loses pricing power- just like a commodity.
Simon Sinek in his book“ START WITH WHY” warns that selling based on price is like heroin addiction. The short-term gain is fantastic, but the more you do it the harder it becomes to kick out the habit.” and once a buyer gets used to paying a lower price you can barely make them pay a premium. Thus, in order to compete, organizations push their prices lower and lower, with discounts to attract a few customers. The result is many sales but lowered profit margins.
Look at the fast-fashion industry. Shein, Zara, and Fashion Nova churn out influencer-heavy, TikTok-driven campaigns that blend into one another. The result? Endless noise, little distinctiveness. Meanwhile, Patagonia- a brand that openly tells customers not to buy unless they need to- cuts through precisely because it refuses commoditization. Its marketing is rare because it feels human, not manufactured.
In this dearth, marketing itself is being commoditized. When every campaign looks the same, when strategies are reduced to templates, agencies become interchangeable and undervalued. CEOs cut marketing budgets first because they no longer see it as a driver of value, but as an expense line.
Globally, this is why agencies face shrinking retainers and gig-style contracts. In Africa, SMEs often bypass agencies altogether, opting for influencers or interns to“ run socials.” The irony is bitter: in trying to optimize everything, marketers have optimized themselves into irrelevance.
Damaged Brand Equity
Brands are built in the mind, not the metric. Yet the famine of strategy has left many brands vulnerable to being forgotten- or worse, ignored. Equity is the cumulative goodwill, recognition, and trust a brand earns over time. It is why Coca-Cola can enter a new market and instantly command loyalty. But when marketing chases only transactions, equity withers.
A brand is a promise wrapped in trust. When that trust erodes, all that remains is a name and a logo. An example is BlackBerry. At its peak, it was a global
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