A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it.
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I’m in Milan, Italy, one of the most iconic fashion centers in the world.
On stage at Il Marketing Forum 2025 last Thursday (I stressed about my stage outfit, btw, because Milan), I quoted the beloved Georgio Armani, who died two weeks ago, at age 91:
“Style is having the courage to make your own choices and also the courage to say no.”
He’s talking about fashion.
But squint, you might see he’s also talking about marketing in 2025.
Armani urged us to choose not just differently—but distinctively.
In marketing, that courage means choosing the slower, braver path—building trust and relationships instead of scurrying after volume, speed, and an information-heavy approach.
The courage to say no.
Damn I love that for all of us! It’s *crucial* in a content landscape as crowded as Lake Como in high season.
In 2025, successful marketers are saying no, grazie to…
- Publishing content just to fill editorial calendars
- Chasing every trending topic + every platform
- Competing solely on volume of information
- Playing it safe with generic, one-size-fits-all messaging
- Ignoring brand + storytelling
So what do we do instead?
We courageously choose differently. We put our hands over our hearts and we choose to…
- Focus on fewer, more meaningful touchpoints
- Give each content asset a job: A purpose + reason it exists
- Go slow strategically to build stronger relationships
- Serve deeper needs + aspirations
- Speak to one person at a time, helping them do one thing better
- Build a distinct, differentiated brand
- Tell true stories, well
- Show up with heart + humanity + joy
The framework I use is this:
This specific [content asset] helps [1 person] move from [current state] to [better state] by [action]—so they can [aspiration].
Example:
The speech in Milan helps a marketer move from overwhelmed by AI to empowered by it by hearing when/when not to use it—so they could confidently reimagine how they connect with customers.
I literally wrote that at the top of my speech outline.
If a point didn’t serve the goal, off it went—discarded like fabric scraps at a fashion house.
(I broke with my suit tradition and opted for the plaid two-piece jumpsuit, BTW. I felt chic in it—the perfetto fit.)
* * *
Walking Milan’s famed shopping district—past Prada, Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani… each with snaking lines of shoppers waiting to get in—I realized something:
Both fashion and marketing challenge us to understand a customer beyond what they say they need.
Fashion isn’t about covering your body: Those people waiting in the blazing Italian sun were already wearing clothes. (LOL)
Armani, Miu Miu, and the rest don’t just sell garments—they sell who you might become in them.
Marketing is no different, if you think about it.
Marketing isn’t about information. Marketing is about sparking imagination: helping people envision better versions of their lives, their work, their future. That’s true especially now, in our AI-riddled world.
Less information; more imagination.
Armani’s designs make you feel more sophisticated before you even put them on. Great content marketing plants a seed of possibility—expanding someone’s sense of what could be.
Maybe you think: I’d never wear Armani. Those Miu Miu prints aren’t me.
That’s the point, too. Courage means speaking so authentically to your ideal community that everyone else just walks right on past.
“Those people are crazy to be waiting in line like that,” you overhear someone mutter in English to someone else behind you on the sidewalk. You need courage to be OK with that.
Better to be someone’s perfect fit than everyone’s second choice.
Tape that above your desk. Have your boss notice it. They need it, too.
* * *
I realized a second thing in Milan, too: The Duomo cathedral will Blow. Your. Mind.
And the food lives up to the hype. In Italy, there is no such thing as bad pizza.
Wait. That’s three things.
Milan—like all of it Italy—is a bountiful place.