If we all believe in ‘difference’ why then is there so little of it about? It’s a worrying irony that, despite all the intelligence and effort that goes into them, most ads - and as a consequence most brands - feel more similar than different. But why, when everyone tries their hardest not to? Those competitive reviews can’t be for nothing. Can they?
As our industry has globalised and professionalised it has also codified a ‘best practice’ formula.
It starts and ends with consumer research, which makes perfect sense, after all isn’t marketing all about ‘meeting the needs and wants of consumers’? The problem is that it is also making communications far more similar and far less powerful.
First, because everyone is following the same path - often using the same researchers to talk to the same consumers about practically the same products. Secondly, because the process leaves out a key question: ‘Is it different?’.
If we agree brand communication needs to be three things: relevant (to consumers), true (credible) and different (to the competition) then it is clear that relevance trumps everything else.
This is not to decry consumer research just that without an equal focus on genuine brand difference it is a recipe for sameness. And sameness is costly because it then becomes a game just of resource - the biggest budget/sales force/distribution network wins. The benefits of brand differentiation are notable by their absence.
Some of the most powerful brands in the world - Apple, Google, Nike - don’t start with consumer insight at all. They come at the world with a very strong sense of self and purpose. Brand ‘mission’ or ‘vision’ in industry-speak. When they do use consumer research they do so to understand how best to express that deeply ingrained mission - not to ask what they should be about in the first place.
So, how to break from the confines of category and the marketing ‘wind tunnel’ and actually stand out?
Here are 10 suggestions:
1. Look for insight from any source - not just from the consumers.
It could be the product, or the brand itself, or what others in your category (yes, the competition) are doing.
2. Think about what your brand insight is - what is your brand DNA?
Its mission; its purpose. (Note: this doesn’t have to be worthy. Axe’s mission is to help young guys chat up girls.)
3. Always make ‘Is it different?’ the first question you ask.
4. Recognise that not all consumers are created equal - there are followers and there are leaders in every walk of life. It may be cheaper to talk to those consumers who are followers - after all, there are more of them and your research company’s recruiters live next door to them - but it is often less helpful.
5. Try and practice foresight as much as insight - where’s your category likely to go next? How could you own it? It’s not easy but it can be very profitable.
6. Try and test in the market rather than the test tube. Most communications testing methods are removed from reality. Do you really buy the things you do because of the ‘key message’? Do you normally discuss things with seven strangers in a closed room, having been told you are being watched and recorded? Are you really an entirely rational human being? Thought not - neither are your customers. Try different ways. Make test films and get people to vote for them online (or just see which ones are most popular).Try test markets with the real thing.
Or maybe just trust your judgement (see number nine).
7. Hurry up. Yes, get a move on. Process, committees, multiple stake-holders, ‘matrixed’ organisations - we all know what that means when it comes to maintaining the integrity and power of a good idea. So speed the process up. If you are a client, set some unreasonable deadlines - but not just for your agency. Internally decree that you will advance faster than expected - but will also be making suitable cuts in process with regard to research and ‘stakeholder management’. The work will be better and you will save money. If you are on the agency side, sit down with clients and show them how less process can lead to better work and lower fees.
8. Value inexperience. Expertise is critical but fresh eyes can help enormously. In the US there are legions of agency folk who just work on car accounts. But is American car advertising particularly good? The outsider is a powerful force. But how often do we invite them in?
9. Put judgement back into the job brief. Since when did no one actually make up their minds about anything? There are frequent complaints that marketing is no longer at the ‘top table’. In the advertising industry there are continual moans that we no longer have access to client ‘C suites’. But, is that any wonder when none of us seems to want to exercise our own judgement? ‘I love it, let’s see what consumers think’, is not really good enough, is it?
10. Multi–brand organisations should think carefully about how they operate. If people move frequently between brands, how deeply do they know and feel brand DNA? Likewise, if all research learnings are shared across teams how different will the work be? Single brand organisations or ones that (ironically) silo themselves (think First Direct’s arms-length relationship with mother brand HSBC in the UK) tend to show a far stronger sense of self and in-built differentiation.
This article was originally published in the June issue of Campaign Asia-Pacific.