Distinctive Brand Assets
Distinctive Brand Assets
The debate of the last decade between brand managers and marketers. Distinctiveness vs. differentiation. Does it really matter—or is it just semantics?
In 2010, Professor Byron Sharp and the Ehrenberg-Bass published “How Brands Grow”. The book challenges many long-held assumptions and unfounded theories and myths of branding that have have long been set in stone.
One of the big assertions in the book, is that marketers and brand managers should focus more on distinctiveness over differentiation. As they put it: “Rather than striving for meaningful, perceived differentiation, marketers should seek meaningless distinctiveness.” In other words, consumers rarely perceive conceptual differentiation between brands. So whether it’s a brand trying to convince consumers that they are differentiated from their competitors or own a range of brand attributes, associations, personality, product features, unique selling propositions, brand purpose, a benefit, “reason to buy”, or whatever you want to call these things, these more symbolic attributes are not the real driving force behind the success or failure of a brand.
Rather, marketers and brand managers should strive for distinctiveness. When a brand is distinctive, consumers “easily, and without confusion, identify” the brand through their distinctive brand assets (sensory and semantic cues such as sounds, colors, packaging, logos, taglines, brand names, etc.)—assets that don't come to mind in association with competitor brands. Building these assets and using them at multiple touch points over time refreshes and builds memory structures in the mind of a consumer which “increases the number of stimuli that can act as identification triggers for a brand.” Put another way, using your distinctive assets (with paid and owned media) helps recall of a brand, and keeps it top of mind when encountered it in purchasing decisions.
That said, there is also a camp of people, myself included, who believe there is more of a middle ground—where one can enjoy the benefits of both:
Distinctiveness need not come at the cost of differentiation…I do not think a brand can own an attribute or association either. The perceptual map never reveals a special place where only one brand can covet a particular association. A brand can differentiate itself by being more of one thing than its competitors. And in combining the right associations with the right execution, ideally powered by the distinctiveness that comes from clear and well applied brand codes, a brand can present itself differently to the market from its competitors.
—Mark Ritson
Using brand codes everywhere your brand is consistently—be it a color, shape, pattern, font, or image—consumers will begin to recognize the brand in question, even when the logo is yet to appear—making the brand quickly top of mind. Distinctiveness focuses on being yourself, standing out through your distinctive assets to generate mental availability.
Your brand can also simultaneously have genuine differentiation relative to your competitors through a tight and narrow positioning. All positioning is, is asking what do you want consumers to think of when they think of your brand? You’ve discovered a couple of things that your target consumer wants, and you can deliver it. No need for 20 page essays with brand charts, rhomboids, and purposed-driven statements. That might feel great, but the result is just a mess.
Be clear on what you want to position your brand on, and be consistent with your brand codes that make your brand distinctively yours.
N.G.