To paraphrase the biblical passage that found its way into the marketing lexicon long ago, ‘trying to be all things to all people, means you’ll be very little to any one person.’ An accepted truth over which few in our industry would argue.
But how is this achieved? Over the last decade there have been competing schools of thought that argue either for Differentiation or Distinctiveness. I believe the answer is both.
Let me start by defining what I see as the definition of each:
Differentiation means the brand is seen as significantly different to its competitors on a specific set of associations. It is defined through the work of positioning and associated brand meaning. In ever more crowded categories, finding such difference has become more difficult. Hence the need to push out to untapped spaces, or ‘edges.’
Distinctiveness means the brand has a unique, recognizable expression that causes people to be aware of it when they are considering a purchase. It is defined through the visual, verbal and auditory codes the brand works to associate itself with over time.
In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of two mostly competing schools of thought regarding these concepts: Those in the ‘Brand Purpose’ camp who believe that brand meaning (differentiation) should be taken to the extreme by re-framing every brand in terms of its altruistic value to society, and the Ehrenberg-Bass camp that believes awareness via visual codes (distinctiveness) drives the vast majority of brand growth.
My belief is not only are both important to brand building, but also that you can’t have one without the other: Expression without meaning is a like a person without a personality – potentially attractive but certainly boring.
Put another way, even if you believe that distinctiveness is the only element that matters in achieving brand growth, how will you decide what you want those visual codes to communicate?
Without differentiation, and the meaning associated with it, it’s impossible to have a coherent strategy not only for brand design, but also for product development and communications. Without distinctiveness, the opportunity to amplify that meaning is lost.
That’s why I’ve put these areas of work at the heart of my offer: Brand Strategy in service of differentiation and Creative Strategy in service of distinctiveness.