You might be feeling the squeeze. 

From one side, there’s inflation, tariffs, planning whiplash and fragile consumer spending. From the other, it’s pressure to grow despite fewer resources and sharper scrutiny of every investment. 

And in the middle of it all? You—the Chief Marketing Officer. 

Meanwhile, AI is rewriting the rules of marketing—redefining what customers expect, changing how teams work, and fueling a new era of marketing mayhem. Our report, The Rise of the AI-Driven Consumer, puts it all out there.  

You’re driving near-term ROI and long-term relevance. Keeping teams energized through high-pressure deadlines. Working around and through the constraints of legacy systems and trying to figure out what emerging tech can do for your business. And doing it all with clarity, confidence and composure in the face of intense pressure to show measurable results. 

But here’s the truth: these uncommon times aren’t all that uncommon. Consider just the last few decades—global conflicts and cultural tensions, a global pandemic, the global financial crisis, and the dot-com crash and well, you get it. If anything’s predictable, it’s instability. 

Now take a breath. The good news is that we’ve been here before. And every era of uncertainty offers disproportionate growth on the other side—growth that sparks the next wave of disruptors. Need proof? Check your phone and you’ll see some of them: PayPal, Spotify, Uber, Calm. 

Our take? There’s no sense waiting for stability. It is better to start leaning into the goal of Uncommon Growth, no matter the macroeconomic conditions. Because that’s how Uncommon Growth happens. It’s breakthrough, repeatable, market-leading and category-shaping growth that’s rooted in clarity, relevance, and resilience—and not at all dependent on perfect conditions.  

So how do brands unlock Uncommon Growth in uncertain times? It starts with action—clear, purposeful, and well-timed. Because while growth is easier in the “easy times,” waiting for them is a losing game. The best brands don’t pause. They move with intent, agility, and confidence. And they’re rewarded for it.

We’ve outlined seven moves—shaped by our work with clients across market cycles—to help you grow not in spite of uncertainty, but because of it.

Driving Uncommon Growth 

Uncommon Move 1: Focus on Clarity, Not Certainty

You can’t predict what’s next. But you can make it clear where you stand—and where you want to go. 

• What this means for the business: In moments of ambiguity, a clearly articulated purpose, brand positioning and strategic direction give your teams a relatable, sustainable north star. Clarity fosters faster and more confident decision-making. 
• What this means for the people: Employees don’t expect perfect answers, but they do want to know the why behind the what. Transparency and consistency reduce anxiety, build trust and boosts engagement and commitment across teams  

Uncommon Move 2: Integrate Brand and Demand

This isn’t a time to pick sides—it’s a time to orchestrate both to work harder for you. 

• What this means for the business: Resilient growth comes from integrating long-term brand equity with proven demand tactics that drive revenue in the near term. CMOs must bridge silos, build shared KPIs and optimize both engines in parallel. 
• What this means for the people: Marketing teams often feel pulled in opposite directions. Help them see how their work contributes to a connected system, not just a single, standalone workstream. Our Brand and Demand playbook shows how you can make it happen.   

Uncommon Move 3: Invest in Experience—Even While Cutting Costs

The first instinct is often to trim the surface. But the right move is to protect what your customers and employees actually feel.  

• What this means for the business: Prioritizing investments in experience lens means protecting the “moments that matter”—the key touchpoints that deliver real value and reinforce key brand equities. More intelligent prioritization builds loyalty without overspending. 
• What this means for the people: Experience budget cuts often impact people first. Involve teams in reshaping the most meaningful experiences. Empower teams to simplify and refine, not just scale back. 

Uncommon Move 4: Double Down on Employee Engagement

In uncertain times, your people need more than direction—they need care, communication and a reason to believe. 

• What this means for the business: Attrition is expensive and damaging in moments of instability. A strong employee valuable proposition, flexible policies and visible leadership help retain talent and maintain momentum. 
• What this means for the people: As people navigate volatility in their own way, flexibility, empathy and purpose-aligned leadership help them stay motivated and committed. 

Uncommon Move 5: Plan for What-if, Not Just What is

When uncertainty is the norm, scenario planning can be an optimistic, forward-looking growth strategy—not a defensive risk exercise. 

• What this means for the business: Smart CMOs are pressure-testing plans against multiple futures, so they can move quickly and pivot nimbly when conditions shift. Scenario planning isn’t about predicting perfectly. It’s about being ready. See our approach for Scenario Planning in Marketing.
• What this means for the people: Your team doesn’t need certainty. They need to know there’s a plan. Exploring a range of scenarios can give people confidence and a sense of control—especially when everything’s in motion, all at once. 

Uncommon Move 6: Embrace the Unfamiliar

Creativity often thrives within limits—and uncertainty can open the door to your next great idea. 

• What this means for the business: Disruption often creates whitespace—nimble teams can spot it and move first by testing new formats, tools, partnerships and messages.
• What this means for the people: Trying something new can make people feel vulnerable. Normalize experimentation, celebrate smart risk-taking and make it safe to stretch. 

Uncommon Move 7: Experiment Small to Win Big

Quiet innovation becomes a superpower and speaks volumes in times of uncertainty. 

• What this means for the business: In turbulent times, smart CMOs run small, fast experiments to reduce risk and build momentum. Innovation doesn’t need to be loud if it’s fast and focused.
• What this means for the people: Testing new ideas can energize teams and clarify what works. Small wins start a virtuous circle of forward progress and rising confidence. 

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In 2004, Dove provocatively widened the definition of beauty through its landmark Real Beauty campaign, challenging airbrushed stereotypes established by the personal care industry and rallying around the “real beauty” of women everywhere.  Originally positioned as a functional soap brand, Dove’s campaign leveraged digital marketing to provide a new opportunity for social discourse and community building, elevating the brand beyond the product line. Dove didn’t just sell beauty, but self-esteem and acceptance, becoming a brand grounded more in social and emotional benefits than functional ones.

How Far Dove Real Beauty Has Come

A primary reason for the success and resonance of the Real Beauty message was its deep rooting in digital activation at a time before digital marketing was commonplace.  For example, Dove used compelling and provocative videos to provide energy around the campaign, including its 2006 “Evolution” video – one of the earliest viral brand videos on YouTube. Its “Real Beauty Sketches” video also became one of the most-watched videos of all time.  It also launched the Dove Self Esteem Project, a web portal intended to improve the self-esteem of young people by engaging viewers in forums, workshops, articles and videos that educate on topics like body positivity and bullying.

“Digital engagement has become table stakes, audience touchpoints and expectations are changing in profound ways”

Now, nearly 15 years after the initial Real Beauty effort, Dove exists in a digital world that looks very different from the original.  Digital engagement has become table stakes, audience touchpoints and expectations are changing in profound ways and the “cause marketing” space has become increasingly crowded and noisy.  It would have been fair to question whether Dove’s brand message was at risk of fatigue.  However, Dove has continued to maintain energy around its brand and sustain relevance as we enter 2020 – using digital to continue to power its message and positioning.

Improving Brand Relevance Through Digital Transformation

The numbers back this up.  In the Prophet Brand Relevance Index® (BRI), Dove remains the most relevant brand in the Household & Personal category – a position it’s held since reclaiming the top spot from Crest in 2017.  Additionally, the gap between Dove and its category is growing, with a 2019 Brand Relevance score that is 35 percent higher than the category average, compared to 32 percent higher in 2016.  Dove’s score for “Customer Obsession” puts it in the top 10 percent of all brands and above noted customer-obsessed stalwarts such as Chick-fil-A and Southwest Airlines, validating the continued strength of the brand’s emotional connection with its audience.  The brand has also seen a steady increase in purchase consideration from 2014 to 2019¹, and as more and more brands position themselves more explicitly around a cause, Dove has managed to stand out, with the highest association with a social cause among all brands².

Examining the moves Dove has made the last few years, it’s clear that it has accomplished this in part by investing in unique, thoughtful and more sophisticated digital marketing strategies.  These digital marketing campaigns – which range from stunt marketing to larger content creation strategies and partnerships – continue to reinforce Dove’s brand positioning, while leveraging more digital touchpoints that audiences interact with.  The approach allows the brand to build off of its earlier momentum by broadening and deepening its exposure with audiences.

Some of Dove’s Best Digital Marketing Strategies

• In 2015, Dove partnered with Twitter to identify negative tweets about beauty and body image, and then respond to these tweets in real-time as part of the #SpeakBeautiful campaign. This was coupled with a creative advertisement about the ramifications of body shaming during the Academy Awards pre-show.
• In 2017, Dove teamed up with award-winning photographers to take striking pictures of “real women” – pictures that spotlighted women’s strength, grit and talent. Through a digital back door, these pictures were uploaded to Shutterstock with a search tag of “beautiful” that flooded results for a search term that historically had yielded photoshopped, airbrushed pictures.  Dove then encouraged other photographers and brands to join the cause, and in turn, created a host of informal ambassadors for the Dove message.
• In 2018, Dove introduced its “No Digital Distortion” mark – a symbol indicating that a picture hasn’t been digitally altered. This symbol runs across all branded content – digital advertisements, social media content and print – and serves as a consistent reminder of the Dove message across both digital and non-digital channels.
• In the same year, Dove announced a two-year partnership with the Cartoon Network series “Steven Universe” to educate young people on body confidence and speak to the next generation of consumers.
• In 2019, in partnership with Getty Images, Dove collected over 5,000 images on the Getty website that featured 179 different women, all of which were women from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds. These images were made available for public use, and like the Shutterstock stunt marketing campaign from 2017, created a sense of ambassadorship for users of the pictures.

¹ YouGov

² Do Something Strategic: A Social Impact Consultancy

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