From gatekeeper to guide – a tale of changing perceptions

Recent PR article in Marketing Mag

Traditionally the role of the brand manager was to protect the brand (with the fervour of an old-timey knight) from ‘cowboys’. The rogue employee described like thieves in the night that rip and distort logos; incorrectly apply colours; steal imagery from Google images – all to produce off-brand and unpolished Facebook posts, frequently riddled with spelling errors and whose reach shall remain forever untracked. 

While this scenario has played out in every organisation to some extent – brand managers have a lot to learn from empathising with the company cowboy. What can we learn from the cowboy?