Dan Beaumont: Looking for Certainty in a Chaotic World

By Dan Beaumont (pictured below), Founder, GAME

 

Does it feel like the world order, we once depended on, is slipping away?

Has it become an irrational mess? A runaway train?

Or am I reading too much and stuck in just one corner of the internet?

Geopolitics? Reorganising, alliances shifting rapidly. Democracy? So vulnerable right now. Trade wars? Great idea, let’s tax everything and see what happens. Prices should go down, right? Markets? One tweet away from a melt-down or massive insider-trading event. And now there are people (who are already incredibly wealthy from IP) suggesting the US ditch intellectual property laws?

According to a 2024 McKinsey Global Survey, over 70% of executives say their business environment has become significantly more unpredictable in the past two years, no doubt this has increased in the last month. Goldman Sachs has raised the odds of a US recession to 45%. Uncertainty is now expected, not the exception.

It feels like all bets are off. The only respite is the extremely boring election we’re having in Australia right now or the thousand year old traditions playing out in the Vatican.

But here’s the question: Are we just gonna sit there, hold our collective breath, and hope this chaos all blows over? Or are we going to lean in and try to use it to sling-shot our brands forward?

What we absolutely shouldn’t do is knock things out of gear and coast, not making any big decisions. Because in our line of work (growing awareness, building salience, making brands famous and driving demand), taking your foot off the gas is the exact opposite of what we get paid to do. That’s like being a fireman and running from the smoke.

So what’s your move?

I bet you instinctively know what it should be.

You double down on the brand.

You back what you stand for.

You don’t play defence and push forward with something to say.

People don’t want beige. Not now. Not ever. They want confidence. They want clarity. They want brands that know who they are and aren’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers. Be one of those. Trust as a currency just went through the roof.

Kantar’s BrandZ study found that distinctive brands grow market share 5x faster than those that are not. Five. Times. Faster. That’s not a rounding error. That’s what happens when you stop trying to be liked by everyone and actually stand (out) for something.

When the stakes are high, sameness doesn’t cut through. And especially here in Australia, where even the largest budgets are modest by global standards, being memorable isn’t optional. Dull work is forgettable and forgettable is expensive. Playing down the middle only works if you can afford to shout loud and long. Most can’t.

Remember, that this too shall pass. We need to hold fast to the confidence that this phase of chaos and destabilisation will eventually run its course. Yes, implement tactics to mitigate immediate risks. But changing your entire strategy, or worse, your business model, is rarely the right move. So be aware of big shifts in culture.

I’m not advocating blind optimism. I am advocating for informed, purposeful confidence and conviction. The kind that helps a brand not only survive, but grow, even when everything feels uncertain and, frankly, a bit scary.

So what works?

It’s Simple.

Have a mission.

Stick to your strategy.

Back it with real money.

And don’t be afraid to go first, say something different, or annoy a few people along the way.

Yeah, it’s hard. Yeah, your CFO is probably breathing down your neck like a member of the Mob calling in debts. But if marketing and brand are still seen as a “cost centre” in your business, then your company is run by someone who hasn’t realised that a strong brand drives future revenue growth and helps to support healthy margins. That’s good for business stuff right there.

HBR looked into this and found that companies that kept their marketing going during the 2008 recession grew 4.5 times faster in the years that followed. A sling-shot effect.

So if you’re a marketer and you know this, but you can’t get anyone to listen, call me. Seriously. We’ll come up with the words. We’ll build the argument. We’ll help you stop being steamrolled by people who think cutting the marketing budget is a genius move to hit the quarterly targets.

Playing offence during downturns isn’t reckless, it’s strategic.

This is your moment. Not to survive, but to go for it. To drive growth. To protect what you’ve already built. And yeah, that might mean doing things that make people feel uncomfortable. That’s how winning works – more work, more sweat, more tears, do something different, exploit a competitive advantage.

Try not to lose, and maybe you’ll hang on. Play to win, and you’ve actually got a shot at doing something big, increasing the chance of hitting your objectives, or even generating outsized results.

Now go watch Runaway Train, it’s on Prime.

 

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