I still remember the day I first learned about Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey."
It was during my early days as a teacher, running a copywriting and messaging class for a corporate client.
I was searching for frameworks that could help me tell better stories. And there it was, a callback to my fiction writing days.
Campbell's monomyth, the idea that all great myths and stories follow a common pattern where the hero ventures from the ordinary world, faces trials, and returns transformed, became the blueprint for how I understood the transformative power of storytelling in marketing.
What struck me most was Campbell's focus that every hero needs something to overcome.
Not just monsters or villains, but beliefs, systems, and internal barriers that keep them from their true potential.
This concept fundamentally changed how I approached brand storytelling. The most memorable brands take a stand against something that's holding their audience back.
When I founded Alt Marketing School, I wanted to create a space where marketers could challenge the status quo. Where we could collectively rewrite the tired narratives that have dominated our industry for too long.
And that's what this newsletter is about: finding your brand's antagonist (the belief or system worth challenging) and using it to galvanise your audience into action.
Because as Campbell taught us, it's the struggle against the antagonist that makes the hero's journey worth taking.
and yes, I created a handy worksheet for you as well.
👩🏫 Lesson of the week
At Alt Marketing School, we teach strategy through story, and every great story needs an antagonist.
The antagonist is not necessarily a person. Not a competitor. But a belief.
It may be a broken system. A tired narrative. An outdated idea your audience is sick of, too.
There is a lot of power in creating tension between the world as it is and the world as you believe it could be.
When you name the "antagonist" in your space, and I mean the real one: hustle culture, toxic productivity, gatekeeping, overcomplicated strategies, you position your audience as the protagonist with something to rally around.
For us it's all about rewriting the marketing playbook for marketers:
Making marketing better for customers
Making marketing better for marketers
First, you have to identify the big topics in your space.
What are the common conversations you're part of? (e.g. email marketing, working with clients, launching products)
What frustrations do your customers frequently express?
What misconceptions do you often need to correct?
What industry "truths" make you roll your eyes?
What outdated advice is still being passed around?
The answers to these questions will help you identify where your brand can take a stand.
These beliefs might be "industry norms" or just things your protagonists (your customers) are tired of hearing:
"Good marketing needs a big budget"
"You have to show up every day or you'll be forgotten"
"Free content isn't valuable"
Try and use words close to your audience’s language - which may mean going full investigator mode in your DMs and even testimonials.
Write down at least 3 examples for each belief.
Reframe The Story
Turn that antagonist into the thing your brand helps your protagonists fight against: with content, products, values, or education:
"Scrappy marketing can outperform paid ads with the right story"
"Showing up with intention > showing up constantly"
"Generosity is a brand strategy"
This approach works because it makes your message instantly clearer.
It helps your audience (the protagonists) recognise themselves in what you stand for, and more importantly, what you don't.
You can consolidate this by opening a fresh sheet (isn’t it the best feeling? Only me? Okay then).
Or, if you’d like, you can access this worksheet I created for you.
Now fill in two columns:
Column 1: "What my audience is tired of hearing" (the antagonist beliefs)
Column 2: "What I want them to believe instead" (your brand's position)
Fill in at least 5 pairs, then choose the one that resonates most deeply with both you and your audience.
The challenge is to create one piece of content that expresses each belief through your protagonist’s lense - aka your customers.
For example, at Alt Marketing School, we've identified several antagonists in the marketing education space, one of my favourites has to be:
Belief: "Marketing always feels icky and manipulative"
Our take: “Marketing is about direction, not persuasion”
Narrative: “You can be proud of your marketing and enjoy it, no more ick in sight”
Our students immediately recognise the pain points they've experienced and see us as the guide who will help them overcome their challenges.
This approach has helped us build a community of marketers who are tired of the same old marketing playbook and are looking for a more authentic, sustainable way to grow their brands.
🏫 Class in session
We are back, back, back with some YouTube goodness - slowly and gently, but still! I walk you through how we use Perplexity AI and why I absolutely love it for research - and yes, it helped me hugely with my upcoming book!
All in all, your job is to find the belief worth fighting for… and the one worth fighting against, positioning your customers as the heroes of their own story.
If you're tired of marketing that doesn't resonate and want to position your audience as the hero against a meaningful antagonist, The Customer-Driven Marketing Handbook is now available for preorder.
Preorder your copy and join the movement to rewrite the marketing playbook - one that rallies against the status quo and puts your customers at the heart of every story.
Always cheering you on,
Fab ✌️