Capturing the audience’s attention is something we’re obsessed with, whether at a personal or company level.
The thing is, a digital presence used to equate with visibility.
It doesn’t anymore.
Simply being active barely cuts it in a world where more content is being distributed by the day. It’s becoming easier to simply bulk-create and publish.
If attention is the issue, surely being concise and brief is the way to garner those all-important eyeballs? That, too, has been disproven. Audiences can spend many hours on long form-content.
The next concept, partly driven by the algorithms and a fragmented media environment, is to be loud and controversial.
This works for some, especially the YouTubers out there, but it can be damaging to people and businesses who don’t properly align with their brand.
Brand refreshes, as we’ve seen, can go horribly wrong (Cracker Barrel) when companies fail to align themselves authentically and instead favour sensationalism or shock.
This is where we see ‘controlled provocation’ come into play. Your brand can stand out, but only if it is connected to a clear narrative, values, and beliefs - it shouldn’t solely be provocative for the sake of it.
So how does this work in practice?
Gone are the days of repetitive and generic brands or campaigns. Today’s marketing demands distinctiveness.
Crafting an effective positioning is your tool to cut through the noise and make an impact - at times, this means poking the bear.
Unlike a tagline, your positioning is your brand’s (personal and company) North Star, guiding your communication strategy and inspiring creativity.
After you develop a strong positioning, you can use it to make deliberate, values-led statements that educate, inspire or inform on assumptions your audience holds, or that your industry avoids.
What cuts through the noise, especially on social media, is a form of controlled provocation that comes from credible roots. Whether that’s from experience, from pattern-spotting, from the quiet “hang on… this isn’t working” moments you’ve collected over years of doing the work.
When your point of view is tied to something your audience already feels (but hasn’t put into words), you’re giving people language for their own frustrations. That’s where trust is built, where you can develop those genuine relationships and credibility. That’s when people lean in to your content, and you can provide solutions.
We like to follow Ivan Fernandes on LinkedIn. For some, he’s controversial, and for others, he hits the nail on the head. It depends on who you ask. The watch out is that the more provocation you use, the more likely it is that you’ll bring haters as well as the fans, so be prepared!
Provocation also looks different across platforms. Each channel has its own norms, behaviours and expectations, and the way you deliver an opinion on LinkedIn won’t be the same as how you may deliver it on YouTube or over email.
Tactically, LinkedIn’s recent algorithm changes mean your hook now has to do more than grab attention; it needs to set the tone for the rest of the post and acts as the provocation driver. So, keep it relevant and make sure the whole piece flows under one key message.
As the year wraps up and teams begin developing their 2026 strategies, people naturally start asking:
How you set the tone for your year ahead matters - it sets the foundation from which your content builds. Your strategy is not something you should rush or keep on pushing back until you’re left putting out content with no real focus.
If you’d like some help knowing where to start, here are some helpful suggestions to spend some time reflecting on:
Controlled provocation should act as a warning to the ‘rage baiters’ because attention shouldn’t come at a cost to your brand.
stay in the know
© 2026 Realview Marketing Ltd.
Website design by Wiggle Creative
