My impression that teenagers seem to think they know more than they really do was recently shattered by my 14-year-old nephew. And in the process I was reminded of the “sacrifice” Challenger Brand tenet.

Sacrifice the pursuit of secondary communications objectives until your primary objective has been achieved.

Andy loves any and every sport, but the one constant in his life has been baseball. As he got older he also started playing football, wrestling and most recently basketball. He wasn’t always the best player at each sport, but he played with gusto and embraced the team aspect.

A few months into his freshman year Andy came to his parents with a big announcement: he wasn’t going to play in any winter sport. His reason was shockingly insightful and wise beyond his years: it would take away from the time he could spend training to be on the high school baseball team. His high school has a highly competitive baseball team and word around the halls was that only one-third of all the boys trying out for the baseball team would make the cut.

He sacrificed playing basketball so he could focus on his baseball skills and game. Andy surmised that his time spent in basketball practices could be better spent in agility training and pitching lessons. He could still shoot hoops for fun with his friends, after all.

Turns out Andy’s trade off to give up basketball in pursuit of making the high school baseball team was the right choice. After a week plus of try outs, Andy was one of just a few freshmen to make the team.

So the next time you are facing either a shrinking marketing budget or the reality that your total marketing budget is far below that of your competitors, think of the wisdom of a 14-year-old. Examine ALL your marketing priorities. What is your highest marketing priority? What activity or expense can you trade off for this quarter or this year in order to achieve this goal first?