.png)
We could spend the next few paragraphs telling you how brilliant we are.
How our strategy-first approach is different from what you’ll get at most content agencies. How we only take on four clients at a time so we can go deep. How our work punches way above its weight.
But you’ve probably heard a version of that before (probably lies too). So, here's a rare thing in marketing: honesty.
We’re going to make a strong case for why you shouldn’t hire us.
The Other Guys is genuinely not for most brands. Not because we're trying to sound exclusive or edgy, but because our approach to brand building requires a fundamental rewiring of how most companies think about content marketing, risk, and growth.
So here it is. Instead of telling you why we’re great, here are 7 reasons you probably shouldn’t hire us.
We’ll start with the obvious:
You believe content is a volume game
Many companies think more content equals better results. They believe if you just publish enough stuff, you'll succeed.
But that's not how good content works. The best content changes how people think. It makes them see a problem they didn't notice before. Or it gets them to take action they were putting off.
Good content also creates a shift in people's minds that stays with them.
For example: If you sell team communication software, you could write about your features. Or you could write about how bad communication wastes time and money. The second approach hits harder. It turns "maybe later" into "we need this now."
The math works against volume-based content strategies. The more pieces you need to produce, the closer you move toward the center of what everyone else is saying, because outlier thinking doesn't scale efficiently.
If you need us to fill your content calendar with daily posts, if you measure success by how much you publish rather than impact,
then you need a content factory.
And that, my friend, is not us.
You need results in 2 weeks
Sometimes, the most reliable predictor of mediocre content is the timeline expectations. Great content strategy requires the kind of deep thinking that simply cannot be compressed into sprint cycles.
When companies tell us to "move fast and break things," they usually mean skip the thinking and jump to making stuff. But the thinking is where the real value happens. That's where we figure out what makes your brand different and what your audience actually cares about.
The brands that get amazing results understand that strategy takes time. They'll spend weeks getting the foundation right because they know no amount of clever writing can fix a weak strategy.
We're not slow. We're thorough. We can move fast once we understand what we're building. But if you need stuff done in two weeks, if you can't invest time in strategy first, then you need an agency that specializes in quick turnarounds, not deep thinking.
And that, my friend, ………
Moving on.
You need us to "strictly" follow your SEO playbook
Some clients treat content like a checklist.
They’ve got keyword lists, briefs, and a bunch of SEO "rules" they expect you to follow to the letter. What Brendan Hufford calls Checkbox Marketing.
This treats content like it's written for search engines, not people. It focuses on being found rather than being remembered. It assumes great content just means well-optimized content.
But content that really moves markets often breaks SEO rules. It cares more about changing readers than getting lots of readers. Sometimes being found by fewer people who really care is better than being found by lots of people who don't.
We don't ignore SEO. But we use it as one input into creative decision-making, not as the primary constraint that determines creative possibilities.
If you need every piece of content to follow specific keyword requirements, if you can't move forward without SEO validation for creative choices, yada, yada, then you need a content production service rather than a creative partner like The Other Guys.
You Only Care About Metrics
The most insidious trap in content impact measurement is the assumption that the same metrics that measure existing content performance can measure breakthrough content performance.
When we create content, it's performance is seemingly poor on traditional content metrics in the first few weeks. Engagement rates measure how well content fits what people already do. But great content often creates new behaviors that don't show up in analytics.
I like to think the type of content we create makes those metrics irrelevant.
TikTok didn't win by creating better YouTube videos, for instance. They made YouTube's success metrics obsolete really. ANdeven Substack didn't beat traditional media by being better at traditional media metrics. They created entirely new definitions of what media success looks like.
You want a vendor, not a thought partner
There's a big difference between hiring an agency to do your vision and partnering with one to improve your vision. Most companies want the first but say they want the second.
The problem happens when companies hire an agency as a thinking partner but manage them like a vendor. They want amazing results but without risk.
If you need an agency to just implement your vision, if you want better execution of existing strategy rather than fundamentally different strategy, if you want recommendations that feel safe, then you need a vendor relationship, not a partnership.
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just don't hire a thought partner (ermmmm...... read: The Other Guys) to do vendor work.
You want everything to sound like your competitors
If you’ve worked with a brand or agency on content, you’ve probably seen this pattern:
“We like what [insert competitor] is doing. Can we do something similar, just better?”
On the surface, this sounds reasonable. Competitor X is doing well. Their content seems sharp. Surely, emulating it with a few upgrades is a smart move, right?
Wrong. When you copy competitors, even when trying to "improve" on them, you're doing three harmful things:
1. You’re using competitive research as creative direction.
You’re treating someone else’s output as your north star, instead of digging for your own original angle.
2. You’re optimizing for sameness.
Even if your content is better, it’s still the same conversation. You’re reinforcing the status quo instead of challenging it.
3. You’re stepping into a crowded room and whispering.
Most category content clusters around the same 3–5 narratives. If you play in that pool, you’re not just competing with your direct rivals. You’re competing with the entire algorithm.
And that’s a losing game. Content that fits in never gets remembered.
You expect AI to do 80% of the work
The most revealing question we get from potential clients is some variation of "how are you using AI to make this faster and cheaper?"
It reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of where value gets created in content work and what kind of thinking can actually be automated.
AI is great at recognizing patterns and producing content. It can analyze competitor content and generate variations on existing themes really well. What it can't do is the strategic thinking that decides which patterns matter and which themes are worth exploring.
We use AI a lot to help execute ideas faster, but it can't replace human insight that determines which ideas are worth executing.
This doesn't mean we're anti-AI or inefficient with technology. We use AI too. But only to amplify creativity rather than replace it.
If you expect AI to handle most creative and strategic work, if you're focused on cutting costs rather than generating insights, then you need a content automation service, not a creative partner.
The real case for The Other Guys
So who should work with us?
Brands that are genuinely building something different and need brand work that matches the ambition of what they're building. Companies led by people who understand that great brand work feels risky because it is risky.
If you've read this far and feel more excited than anxious, then maybe we should talk.
But please, if any of this triggered your risk management instincts, if you found yourself mentally editing our approach to make it feel safer, then save yourself the time and find an agency that specializes in making everyone feel good about safe choices.
The other 98% of the market has plenty of options. The top 2% should probably stick together.
Harsh, I know.
