🔁 Why Are Buttons Misaligned? ③ — Seeds of Marketing #63

— Is continuity really broken by just one person’s decision? (continued from previous entry) This time, I want to highlight a case of misalignment that occurred at a long-established manufacturer. Although the company had a strong market share and a reputation for product quality, signs had begun to emerge that their traditional approach was no longer resonating with a new generation of customers.

To address this, we proposed the launch of an online community focused on “well-being” and “quality of life.” The goal was to create a space where users and the brand could connect naturally and build a new kind of relationship.

A personnel change that brought everything to a halt

At the planning stage, the project manager was highly motivated. They had outlined a range of initiatives using UGC (user-generated content)—from user-driven posts to roundtable discussions—designed to spark organic engagement. It was a project rich in potential, where the brand’s philosophy could intersect meaningfully with people’s everyday interests. But everything changed when that manager was reassigned. The initiative—although technically handed over—lost its momentum. The site stopped updating, and eventually, it was abandoned. The “space” we had built quietly faded into obscurity.

Why was there no system for continuity?

The core issue wasn’t simply that a project stopped because one person left. Rather, it was about how the initiative had been positioned within the company as a whole. Was the community site seen as a short-term campaign? Or was it considered a long-term strategic asset? Because that definition was never clearly agreed upon internally, the project lost priority once the original manager left—no one else felt responsible for it. This isn’t just a one-off issue. It reveals a structural weakness shared by many organizations.

From individual-driven to organization-backed

Some marketing initiatives—especially communities or UGC—don’t yield immediate results. These are efforts that only reveal their true power over time. That’s why, from the beginning, it’s crucial for the organization—not just an individual—to agree on the purpose and timeline of the initiative. You need a clear rationale that can be explained even after personnel changes: “Why does this initiative matter to us?” Without that, even the most compelling projects are fragile and vulnerable to disruption.

The key to continuity: an organizational perspective

What this case reveals is that marketing continuity cannot rely on individual enthusiasm alone. How a company nurtures its brand assets—and whether it sees them as long-term value—can make all the difference in shaping its future. In the next entry, I’ll explore the lessons learned from this case and look at more concrete frameworks and mindsets that can help safeguard continuity. (to be continued)