Let us set aside fashions and trends. Let us seek the truth of each brand and its path. Let us avoid the distractions that the moment often presents. If it is not in our essence, let us not waste time.

Every year, around this time, various analyses begin to surface about the most used, searched, and spoken word. In my case, it’s the word I heard most often in conferences, presentations, briefings, and pitches. The world of Marketing and Communication was filled with the word: DISRUPTION.

Disruption is a word that says a lot and, at the same time, can say very little. It says a lot when accompanied by a strategic rationale that defines a new path and, by doing so, invalidates the current one, creating an entirely new moment and an alternative for real change to occur. It says very little when paired with an almost desperate plea that “my brand needs to do something different; we have to be disruptive.”

I know, we all know, that brands are experiencing erosion. I also understand why this happens. A significant number of brands, in their eagerness to please, follow trends and, in doing so, become just like so many others, losing one of their most important characteristics: relevance to their consumers.

This is why brands ask communication to achieve the nearly impossible: to make their brand different, and therefore more relevant, solely through communication.

Brands are the worst entities in the world to be dressed up. Consumers—all of us—are intelligent beings, and we immediately recognize when what’s happening is merely a momentary cosmetic change that does nothing to alter their essence. Let us, therefore, stop thinking about change solely through the lens of communication, as it is a surefire recipe for disaster.

If we want and need to change, then let’s truly work on disruption that creates value for consumers—whether through product transformation, changes in distribution channels, innovation that generates network effects, offering a new service, or adopting a new business model. All these examples, and many others, genuinely allow communication to step in afterward and craft a different, disruptive, and relevant message because it will be backed by a truth that supports it.

It is only by creating truths that brands can differentiate themselves and stand out in this complex, highly competitive world. Let us think about how to find them. Let us think about how we can better understand the consumer and their desires, how to collaborate more effectively with our suppliers, and how to create value through our distribution and with our customers. These will be the unchanging truths of our marketing. Let us set aside fashions and trends. Let us seek the truth of each brand and its path. Building a brand is a long journey, one of persistence, coherence, and consistency. Let us avoid the distractions that the moment often presents. If it is not in our essence, let us not waste time.

May the coming year bring us all less disruption and more truths!

Article written by João Santos, COO of WYgroup, originally published in ECO magazine.