January may be the time to refresh, renew and re-set. But here’s a novel idea. Stop getting hung up on novelty!

While it caused a stir, Jaguar’s rebrand left many feeling confused.

Starting from scratch, disregarding previous learnings, ignoring audience insights, and creating in a vacuum can result in concepts which lack relevance, appear tone deaf or miss the mark. To build brand love, spark action or drive change, attention needs to be earned. Brands must show up in the moments that matter to their audiences. Building a deep understanding of those groups and their cultural conversations is one step towards creative brilliance. Expanding your world of inspiration, perspectives and connections is another.

Picasso once said, “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” In other words, don’t be afraid to build on what already exists.

Follow these three tips to earn attention for all the right reasons in 2025, with a creative nod to what came before:

1. Know your audience

Jaguar should take inspiration from heritage brands which have successfully appealed to younger generations without alienating heartland customers. 

Tabasco, for example, a 150-year-old brand in a growing category, wanted our help to entice millennials and Gen Zs. This audience is populated by foodies using discovery as social currency and exploring the world through their tastebuds. To be part of their highly curated lifestyles, we created the brand strategy, Light Things Up. The campaign tagline and visuals telegraph how the legendary hot sauce producer makes food and life more exciting.

A universal insight like this will spark recognition with your audience, so weave it into the heart of your campaign. Something Hunter did for miscarriage jewelry brand, Little Santi Designs.

More than 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage yet many grieve silently to protect others from social awkwardness. Little Santi Designs challenged us to spark conversation around this last taboo.

The size a baby grows to is often the only thing parents know about their unborn child. Inspired by this truth, we opened the conversation with the #MyLittle… campaign, inviting miscarriage sufferers to share stories using the hashtag followed by the equivalent size their baby grew to be. Those taking part could check the Little Santi Designs website for symbols representing size up to 21 weeks of pregnancy. The organic campaign reached close to a million and earned attention in a way that was ownable to the brand but also struck a chord with its audiences.

2. Lighten up

While the shift to the greater good has long put purpose at the heart of brands’ strategies, don’t be afraid to use insights to disrupt the sombre tone. It’s ok to be funny, even if the world is crumbling. In fact, humour releases tension and can be a powerful way to connect with audiences, even around serious topics.

Look at Specsavers’ Misheard Version, which plays on the trope of misunderstood song lyrics to encourage consumers to test their hearing. A masterclass in understanding audiences, the campaign centered on Rick Astley’s 1987 classic ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. A hit when those who may be experiencing hearing loss (just like Rick himself) were young, cleverly selected for broad appeal at the peak of Astley’s cultural resurgence due to the ‘rick-rolling’ phenomenon.

3. Get inspired!

No-one likes plagiarism, but isn’t everything ‘inspired’ by something else?

Even Specsavers owes a credit to comedian Peter Kay who claimed Welsh singer Duffy was begging him for ‘birdseed’ and that ‘just let me staple the vicar’ is a line from the song ‘We Are Family’.

Mark Twain claimed, “There’s no such thing as a new idea”, and certainly the last twelve months have sparked a sense of déjà vu. Travelodge teamed up a with a Kate Moss look-a-like to launch a 24-hour duvet dress during London Fashion Week. Not dissimilar to the ‘suvet’, duvet suit launched by Jury’s Inn to soften the blow for those getting out of bed when the clocks sprang forward eight years ago. Clearly a creative honeypot for the likes of Dominos which released a similar style heat suit last January.

From floating stuff down the Thames to pop-ups popping up generation after generation, there’s no harm in building on what already exists. But to avoid a double-take from long-in-the tooth PR-geeks, be sure to breathe fresh thinking into your stories. A new take or perspective, particularly linked to an audience insight, can still be considered innovative. Steve Jobs famously said “creativity is just connecting things”. Certainly, creative people find more things to connect than others.

Which is why you shouldn’t get me started on the Oreo ‘Puffer Snacket’…!