Small sparks, big impact
It’s been a busy October for us here at Untamed, but one question has kept cropping up: does scale matter when it comes to impact?
We thought it was the perfect theme to kick off our newsletter.
Why? Because of the Untamed brand refresh
When we first decided to update our branding (link to Karen’s article), it wasn’t about reinventing ourselves—it was about expressing our identity more clearly. The refresh was a sharper articulation of who we are and what we stand for.
So, when it came to sharing the news, we didn’t go big. We went targeted. Because not everyone will care—and that’s okay.
Personally, that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learnt; a well-positioned, sharply focused campaign will always outperform a broad one with no clear message. It’s not about shouting louder—it’s about saying the right thing to the right people.
Design, pensions, and positioning—what do they have in common?
Our campaign started with the design. Jack talks about the unpredictability in design and how creativity thrives when we allow space for experimentation.
Then we had the conversation of scale and audience – how big do we need to go to reach the people we want to. Darren said it best with workplace pensions and how scale of pension funds doesn’t always equal success – the same went for our strategy – size doesn’t always guarantee value.
These approaches, taken the experiences from design and policy, helped us strategise a marketing message that worked for us – a sharp and specific position over broader messaging – as Karen puts it – because it was about helping the audience know exactly what we stand for.
A quick history nerd moment...
If you know me, I love a good history analogy. I look after my little cousins a lot and this month, she’s learning about the Romans – largest empire, dominated most of the territory that had been discovered at the time –right?
Fun fact, when Rome was first born, they were the underdog in the first Punic War against Carthage and the Mediterranean. But most people forget this.
The point I’m trying to make is size didn’t save them. Eventually, they fell, replaced by smaller, more adaptable powers like the Byzantines. They evolved by building on the Roman’s underdog past—without being trapped by the scale.
Big isn’t always better. Whether it’s an empire or a campaign, adaptability, strategy, and timing often win
And that’s what we’re trying to do – from design to policy to marketing, we all have the same outlook. Better always beats bigger.
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Abbie Parrott, Marketing Assistant
