Brand lessons from the Tennants, the TARDIS and my dinner table

There’s a life-size cut-out of David Tennant in our house. Yes, really.

My daughter insists he takes pride of place, and frankly, he’s become part of the furniture. He’s been dressed up at Christmas, photobombed more family selfies than I care to admit, and has even startled the odd delivery driver. At her recent 18^th birthday party he lurked in the shower waiting to terrify guests and the man himself featured prominently in the speeches.

Today, as I perused the Daily Mail online, I was therefore delighted to see that Georgia Tennant had opened up about family life with their five children – and everything she said felt oddly close to home.

Like me, Georgia is raising neurodiverse children. She shared how mealtimes are rarely the traditional sit-down affair. Some of her kids find it overwhelming to eat with others, so dinner is often served in separate rooms, with separate menus. To outsiders that might sound chaotic – to those of us living it, it’s just Tuesday.

The Tennant house is just like mine, it seems. The only difference being they have the reality while I have the cardboard equivalent.

Mealtimes here are a mash-up of Deliveroo, Come Dine With Me and a hostage negotiation. I gave up long ago on the mythical “everyone around the table” picture-perfect dinner. Instead, I’ve learned that there is no one-size-fits-all and that trying to force “normal” only ends in frustration. Instead, I work with my children’s needs – adapting, flexing and finding joy in the differences.

But this attitude does not just apply to meals and not just to family life either.

It also applies to marketing.

Think about it. No brand should expect every customer to want the same thing, consume content in the same way, or respond to the same message.

Some customers want short TikToks, others want long LinkedIn think pieces. Some like slick campaigns, others only trust brands that feel homegrown and human. Some prefer bite-sized canapés of content, others want a seven-course tasting menu.

Try forcing everyone into the same room, eating the same thing, at the same time – and you’ll have the brand equivalent of a family meltdown. It’s not about diluting your message – it’s about respecting that not everyone eats at the same table, but they can still belong in the same family.

The Tennants get it. They don’t fight the chaos, they embrace it. And that’s the lesson brands need to learn too: adapt to the quirks, flex to the needs, and don’t assume one approach works for everyone.

So here’s to Georgia and David – proving you don’t need a TARDIS to navigate life with neurodiverse kids, just patience, humour and the odd life-size cardboard cut-out.

And here’s to every brand out there bold enough to say: no, one-size does not fit all.