In today’s marketing landscape, breaking out of any category’s “sea of sameness” can be difficult. Take the dominance of digital marketing and the all-too-often small creative footprint available, and the task gets taller. Add layers of 1:1 audience communications and a more fragmented media landscape, and the task is even taller.
In the B2B world, only 19% of ads are recognized or appropriately attributed to the sponsoring brand. As Robert Whitley of “The Brand Insider” said, “Too many brands are failing to make an inspirational impression.” So, while gone are the days of a double page spread, and yes, the landscape has changed, brands still need to break through, be memorable and inspire.
And it’s not impossible. It does take the willingness to do something different, maybe even bold. Consistency too can play a significant role. In Adam Morgan’s book “Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders”, he talks about “building a lighthouse for your brand.” Or, what we like to call “throwing a big rock.” Ask yourself, “Tactically, what can we do to get noticed quickly?” While the days of flash mobs may have passed, there are countless ways to activate your brand and get noticed early in a campaign.
Years ago, Crispin Porter + Bogusky put a BMW Mini on top of a 747 and then broadcast the stunt using earned and social media. When BSSP won Mini, they followed suit by localizing the idea to multiple markets, putting Minis on top of larger SUVs. Not quite a 747, but still a tactic with some drama, and most importantly, memorable. What did they do when they launched the Mini-Clubman? Put the Mini on the Clubman. Again, eye catching, memorable and fun.
For Red Gold canned tomatoes, CCF did the same. We identified high-visibility areas in key markets and leveraged out-of-home to create what we call “spectacular boards.” In this case, tomatoes the size of VW Bugs complete with huge vines growing up the billboard base showed up – unbranded – for one month as a teaser. We used the mystery to pitch earned media, then eventually revealed the brand when the tomatoes were replaced on the vine by giant cans of Red Gold. We coupled this with a very generous donation to a local food shelf, and the net result was a “big rock” that got the brand noticed just as a new campaign was launching.
Stunts and spectacular boards are not the only way to break out of the sea of sameness. Other examples:
- Leverage design to create distinctive brand assets. Used consistently, these assets will become associated with your brand and anchor you with your audience every time they see your communications.
- Create an icon. GEICO has its Gecko, Progressive has Flo, but long before the Gecko, cereal brands tied themselves to characters to secure brand association. You may not have bought anything from Pillsbury lately, but if you see the doughboy, what do you think?
- Jingles and pneumonic devices can go a long way too. Do you have a signature sound that brands your audio or video executions? Why not?
Breaking through the clutter can be hard. But with a little extra effort up front, you can find ways to create repeatable actions that will help separate you from your competitors and really everyone else who is out there shouting. Need some help? Give us a shout.
