Lawrence Medina

When anybody starts talking about brands, how many pop into your head? Probably a stack the size of a mountain. We are consistently inundated by brands. Since we see so many brands, it can be easy to spot similarities.

Once you notice those similar aspects you may begin to think… “Oh, every brand is the same.”

This could not be further from the truth. It’s in those similarities that brands strike out with truly unique features that really stick in people’s mind.

I would love to break down for you these “similarities” and show you that brands—that know what their doing, can stand out no matter the similarity you may see.

Differentiating a Brand

A quick disclaimer here.

Differentiating a brand is easy. Their color schemes are –hopefully—always different. Their products offer different feelings and flavors.

Despite certain similarities… Each brand is different from one another. A key aspect of these differences is the voice. You’ll never see Pepsi and Coca-Cola using the same words to describe themselves.

Pepsi is Refreshing.

Where,

Coke is Happiness.

These voices—these words that they use to describe themselves… Fall into the first part of differentiating themselves from like-brands.

The Perception

How do you perceive this brand? Or if you’re a brand, how do you want to be perceived?

Perception is key. Some might say, perception is everything. Let us for a brief moment, think of a general person. Maybe their your neighbor down the street. You are aware of them, but know nothing of them.

If they look average you’ll think nothing of them. If they look beautiful, you may think they are this way inside and out. If they are ugly, then you may think the same.

This way you perceive a single person is the same way you perceive a brand. In all honesty, the average consumer knows nothing about a brand. Nothing beyond how they look. This look could be the key factor in someone picking your product.

Let’s look back at Pepsi vs Coca-Cola. Maybe you picked Pepsi up over Coca-Cola for the very simple reason that one was blue and that’s your favorite color, so it must be good.

Now, some consumers—a growing number of consumers, want more out of their brand. Their look isn’t enough for them to be a favorite among some circles. They have to be perceived as good.

However, “good” is vague in many consumers eyes. Often times it is just enough to be on their side on any given topic. For some brands, you’ll have the fortune of not having to worry about this, but one day it will spring up. You’ll certainly need to be prepared for any backlash.

Be sure to be good.

The “Glow”

This term may seem strange to associate with branding, but it may make sense as I go through it.

I like to think of the “glow” as the moments after your brand is witnessed or used by consumers. This “glow” will make or break your connection. It could be something as simple as taste. It could also be the customer service that follows up right afterward.

Here is a quick analogy for you. My family switched cable providers once, the new company we switched to did not have the best of installers. Unnecessary holes were made throughout the house. What should have taken 2 hours shuffled into 5. Once they left—we had them take their cable service along with them.

This moment is the glow. It can be short—or long in my case. It is this moment in time that really makes or breaks that connection with your consumer.

Even to this day, I do not look at that brand fondly.

This leads us to…

The Memory

A long-lasting effect of both the perception and the glow. The memory can be good or bad, but perhaps the greatest part about it… The memories that come up are a connection with your consumer.

Whether you like it or not, these memories are going to be around for a long time… So why not make the best of it?

If your brand voice allows it, poke fun at your previous attempts to reach out to people. Mock your missteps. Let those memories roll off your back and have a laugh at them with your consumers.

Did you make good times that your consumers would have a hard time forgetting, create reminders for those good times. Create content and let the nostalgia’s rose tinted glasses do the work.

The memories you create are powerful and whether they are good or bad, they are effective ways of detailing your story.

Utilizing the Factors

Take these factors to heart. Find ways of leveraging each one to your advantage.

Remember perception can come in many forms. It does not simply have to mean what everybody can see. If your brand, product, or service allows for it… Step into the other senses. What you come up with may surprise you.

The “glow” is a fragile line. Be sure to take it on from the right angle. Ensure that the process you create leaves your consumers feeling something. Among the worst things, you could do is leaving people feeling nothing. At least if you’re bad… There is something to fix and move on from.

Memories can be fun for any creative, marketer, or even analyst to play with. The memories guarantee that people will be looking. Whether it was bad or good, this is certainly something to play around with. Just be sure not to ruin any good memories you’ve established.