Your brand needs a villain. It’s the one thing that will unite your tribe against a common cause and make your brand stand out. The problem, however, is that we misunderstand the concept of villains.

The term villain instantly brings forth the image of Darth Vader, Thanos, and Voldemort. Those are villains… yes. But those are not the real villains. Let me explain. 

Before we get into Marketing, let’s look at some movies. 

Who is the villain in Kung Fu Panda? Tai Lung? Nope.

Who is the villain in The Matrix? Agent Smith? Nah.

Who is the villain in Finding Nemo? The scuba diver who took Nemo? No.

Here are the real villains –

Kung Fu Panda – Po’s misbelief that he needs to be special to be a dragon warrior.

The Matrix – Neo’s misbelief that he is not special. 

Finding Nemo– Marlin’s deeply rooted fear of losing his son Nemo forever.

A similar thing is true for your brand.

A weight loss coach might think that the villain he is helping his audience defeat is ‘Excess Weight.’ But that’s not the villain. That’s a Job to Be Done… a goal the audience wants to achieve. 

Quite often, we confuse the two. 

For the weight-loss coach, the real enemy is the client’s misbelief. That’s what they should be fighting.

The weight-loss coach may realize that people struggle to lose weight because they believe they need fancy diets with kale and broccoli. Or the weight-loss coach may realize that people struggle to stay consistent with workouts because they believe only intense exercises like CrossFit will help them lose weight.

The misbelief is the villain. The job of the weight loss coach is to make this belief the villain and attack it. 

Remember, it would have been a boring story if Po was confident. The reason we cheer for Po is because his misbelief is relatable. His inner struggles and transformation make the movie worth watching. 

If you want to build a brand that truly connects, don’t just fight the problem… fight the belief holding your audience back.