Branding according to Marty Neuemeier II : Differentiation
It is absolutely no news to the marketing world that DIFFERENTIATION is a key practice when trying to have a successful brand. However, many marketers shake and tremble with only reading the word. It scares the $%&#* out of most managers, CEO’s, CMO’s, CFO’s, and any other person involved.
but… WHY?
The reason itself might not be known scientifically now, or even in a million years. But deep inside, we all know why DIFFERENTIATING makes most managers scared.
Because it deals with uncertainty. However, this uncertainty if channeled properly can sky-rocket a brands power and dominance in an industry.
According to a Wikipiedia entry “product differentiation is the modification of a product to make it more attractive to the target market…”, but it is so much more.
Basic marketing understanding states that it is composed by four dimensions, or factors that influence the overall power of strategy.
- Product
- Promotion
- Pricing
- Placement
Differentiation can be seen as an important issue in any of these four dimensions. Each one of this dimensions have certain strategies and tactics that can be used to manage a product/brands marketing efforts. When trying to differentiate (within whichever dimension) the best strategy to use is to go within the border of eccentricity, and craziness, and make a way for it to become sane and normal.
Its a given that when a different brand comes in to the consumers mind they will either HATE it, or LOVE it… but that’s fine, it will just help create brand character and awareness. It will be cost efficient for the brand to lose some, to gain more.
Differentiating a brand from its competitors can be tough and costly.
… why bother?
Because there lies the secret to remarkable marketing. A product, or a brand that is no different from the rest, will never get noticed by an audience. Like Marty states in his book “The Brand Gap”, our brains are built with some sort of radar that detects only that which is different. When we see a quite dot in a black page we notice it. But when we see millions of black dots in a black page, we don’t even care to look.
That’s exactly what must be done with brands in able to differentiate them from the rest.
Good examples: Apple, Google, Yahoo (at a certain time), Starbucks, Alienware, Firefox, Nike, Amazon, Song Airlines (doesn’t longer exist, but they were good at differentiation), artists like Madonna and Marilyn Manson, Sony, Nokia, Walmart, Banana Republic, Toyota, cities like New York, Hong Kong, Paris, and Rio…
{feel free to add to the list via comments}
When you mentioned at the beginning of your post that differentiation isn’t news, you’re right of course. But at the same time, very few companies really get this as far as effectively branding.
Of course some companies are even listening to the chatter that there is no more value in branding, and consumers don’t have connections to companies any more.
The list you wrote proves otherwise, and hundreds more could be added to it; think Richard Branson and Virgin as an example.
If any company has a desire for longevity, they will have to commit themselves ferociously to branding themselves and not listen to the hype of those saying it’s no longer important.
There are two primary types of differentiation: real and creative. When you have a real difference that should be the edge you work with. However, if you are among generically indifferent products, you need to create a difference in the mind of the consumer. Is there any real difference between “kissing close” and “fresh breath?” Not much at all, unless you want to be kissed by someone with foul breath. Were there any real difference between the two toothpaste’s that used these slogans? Not really. Yet, that is what separated one from the other – fresh breath or kissing close.
Hey there guys, thanks for the comments. They’re both very insightful and right.
Gary- I know what you mean about companies not believing in “branding” anymore. I think it’s a big mistake to lose brand focus since in reality it is a great part (if not the biggest) of what makes a business profitable.
Jim- Yes, real and creative differentiation do exist, and both can work if executed accordingly. That is kind-of what I meant when I said you can differentiate in any of marketing 4 P’s. You can position your brand apart from the competition (promotion) by differentiating what consumers have in mind about your brand.
Thanks and keep checking the blog out for the next posts in the series.
Ron
Reykjavik is an interesting example of a city that has established itself as a unique tourism destination. Taking advantage of its stopover status for people travelling between Europe and North America, it is now a trendy place to spend the weekend/week for hip people on both sides of the Atlantic.