South Africa, Aug. 18 -- This is the argument made by Adam Morgan, founder of the global strategy consultancy eatbigfish and pioneer of the "Challenger Brand" concept. In his Cannes Lions presentation, "The Eye-Watering Cost of Dull Media", Morgan reframes mediocrity not just as a missed opportunity, but as a measurable and compounding business cost. His thinking has ignited conversations across industries and territories, and it's landed in South Africa too.

"Increasingly, we see organisations becoming paralysed by risk aversion," says David Blyth, CEO of Delta Victor Bravo (representatives of eatbigfish in Africa). "What Adam's work shows, is that the real risk lies in being forgettable."

The core argument is that choosing "dull" does...