The golden eagle problem.

What happens when ego outweighs strategy?

Every agency has that story—the one where a single client decision derails years of otherwise great work. Mine involves a golden eagle that insisted on starring in every commercial I produced … for half a decade.

Not because the brand had anything to do with birds.
Not because research suggested soaring raptors boosted conversions.
Just because the client loved eagles.

That was the entire brief:
“Include it or find another account.”

So we included it. For five years.

And what followed is a masterclass in what happens when opinions, hunches, and personal whims override strategy, data, and the actual purpose of marketing.

When branding becomes a bird cage

We tried everything to make that eagle make sense. Dramatic swoops. Symbolic glides. Transitions. Cameos. Emotional moments. You name it, we tried to justify it.

But here’s the truth: Every time the eagle disappeared and we focused on the real message, the ads performed better.

I had the numbers to prove it. The client didn’t care.

That school could have been the crown jewel of our portfolio — smart creative, clear storytelling, visible results. Instead, those commercials became the running joke among peers.

I’m convinced it cost us better opportunities.
And it certainly cost the client. Their performance declined year after year, even though they technically had a marketing plan. They just refused to let data influence it.

The hidden cost of opinion-driven marketing

The president of that company was well known — not just for his business, but for a temper that could be seen from orbit. Suggesting that his beloved eagle wasn’t working? That was treated like a personal attack.

I’ve been in marketing for 30 years, and I’ve seen this pattern shred perfectly good campaigns:

• A business owner “just knows” what will work.

• They fall in love with their own idea.

• They treat that feeling as evidence.

• Data that contradicts their intuition becomes an insult.

• Strategy gets replaced by ego.

• The campaign fizzles or outright fails.

The dangerous part isn’t having an opinion, it’s refusing to let anything challenge it.

Your opinion about how your marketing should perform matters far less than what your customers’ behavior shows actually does perform.

When experience and ego learn to get along

One client I’ve had for 12 years started out rough. They inherited me from a departing partner and had very different instincts about marketing.

We clashed. A lot.

But over time, the friction softened into trust.
We learned when to push each other.
We learned how to interpret each other’s blind spots.
We learned that disagreement isn’t disrespect — it’s a path to clarity.

Today, that business is having its strongest year ever.
They’ve expanded markets.
They’ve referred other clients to me.
And we both know how to navigate conflict without burning the place down.

Great marketing isn’t harmony. It’s collaboration.

The red flags I watch for now

The eagle years gifted me a sixth sense for early warning signs.

1. The self-proclaimed marketing genius

• Knows everything. Listens to nothing.

• Impossible to help until the universe provides consequences.

2. The “Do whatever you want” client

• Totally disengaged. Sounds liberating, but it’s not.

• Good marketing requires a partner, not a passenger.

3. The Chronic Penny-Pincher

• Not frugal — manipulative.

• Late on invoices, always asking for discounts, constantly shopping around for your replacement.

• If they treat you like that, they’ll treat their customers the same way.

Extreme positions kill collaboration. That’s where brands go to stagnate.

How to push back without lighting the relationship on fire

My mentor taught me a rule that’s saved many engagements:

Object once. Back it up. Then do what the client asks.

You advocate strongly.
You present data.
You explain the risk.

After that?
You execute—gracefully.

Sometimes you get the satisfying “You were right.”
Sometimes you don’t.

But you preserve the partnership, which gives you better chances to influence future decisions.

Marketing is long-term.
Experience tells you when to push and when to let time and performance do the persuading.

The bottom line

If you’re hiring a marketing expert, let them be an expert. Not a short-order cook for your intuition.

The golden eagle taught me this:
Some clients will never trust data over their gut.
Those are the clients I no longer take.

Today, I flag communication issues early.
I tackle the uncomfortable conversations before they balloon.
And I maintain relationships with clients for years—sometimes decades—because we operate on trust, not ego.

And trust is what turns opinions into conversations, conversations into insights, and insights into strategies that actually work.