Embrace Your Brand Essence to Stand Out

Creative Marketing Strategies: Part 1

When developing a marketing strategy for a brand or product, many resort to superlatives and exaggerations: “The ultimate so and so,” “made from the highest quality this and that,” “the last (insert product name) you’ll buy,” and so on. This practice is especially prevalent on (but not limited to) Amazon, and its overuse results in diminishing returns. Not only do shoppers see through such claims, but they don’t really say anything about your brand or product. If every product is “the ultimate” one, then how do shoppers determine the difference between them? How can shoppers trust that any of them are even true? It’s a lose-lose scenario for you and your competition.

Instead of stale superlatives and questionable exaggerations, try going the other way. Instead of making up reasons for shoppers to buy into your brand, try taking a step back and finding its essence. Instead of inventing hyperbolic statements, play into your existing strengths. What is your brand or product's core offering? How does that make it unique? Dig below the surface. Finding your essence and using it as the basis of your marketing strategy can be a powerful tool for avoiding the pitfalls of unnecessary superlatives and exaggerations.

Eager Just Make Juice.

The most obvious and straightforward example of this is Eager. While their competitors were focused on inventing reasons for shoppers to buy their juice, Eager leaned into the essence of their “perfectly normal, 100% natural, no added nothing, just juice”. Most juice brands claim health benefits, list added vitamins, guarantee great taste, and more. Eager, on the other hand, chose to embrace natural imagery inspired by fruits and their colors. They designed simple packaging that reflected the colors of different fruits, featuring their names prominently in large fonts. Their slogan choice was creatively candid, with phrases like "there is nothing different about this juice," "if it tasted any better it’d be unnatural," and "it’s so ordinary, it’s extra ordinary." By focusing on their core offering instead of inventing, they were able to cut through the noise of overwhelming claims and carve out a distinct positioning in their market as the brand of natural juice. Eager made it easy for shoppers to determine the difference between them and others and perhaps even undermined the exaggerated claims of their competitors in the eyes of shoppers.

Ikea is Affordable.

Ikea serves as a slightly less obvious but nonetheless illustrative example. You only need to have bought furniture in your life to know that Ikea played to their strengths in the ‘Inflation-Proof Products’ marketing campaign. Ikea’s core offering is simple: affordability. The strategy behind this campaign was simply to highlight that the prices of flagship Ikea items have remained unchanged in the context of inflation. Leaning into their essence, all they did was underscore their commitment to affordability even during hard times. They didn’t invent anything to compete with luxurious brands. They didn’t make hyperbolic statements about the quality of their products. They knew their brand essence and reminded shoppers of it with a simple but powerful campaign. The context of inflation made this strategy even more impactful, but Ikea’s consistent focus on their essence has helped them find a clear and recognizable market positioning.

Levi’s are Iconic.

The least obvious but most intriguing example is Levi’s ‘The Greatest Story Even Worn’ campaign to celebrate the 150th anniversary of their iconic 501 jeans. Although Levi’s are synonymous with quality craftsmanship, durable designs, and timeless style, they chose to showcase the stories of Levi’s 501 wearers instead. The brand and product essence is more difficult to distil here, but fundamentally, it is Levi’s trusted status among jeans wearers over a significant span of time. There are brands that can compete with Levi’s products, but very few (if any) can compete with their iconic status. That’s what differentiates Levi’s from others. Because of this, Levi's didn't need to compete with all the other brands that marketed features such as quality and style. The stories of Levi’s wearers and the brand heritage were themselves testaments to the brand’s quality, style, and so much more. This campaign was a powerful reminder to consumers that while other brands may come and go, Levi’s remain a trusted choice for jeans.

The Takeaways

The examples of Eager, Ikea, and Levi’s demonstrate diverse (but not exhaustive) ways to utilize your brand essence to creatively differentiate from your competitors. There is beauty in essence and simplicity in a world inundated with constant content. The takeaway here is to focus on what you are instead of what you are not. You don’t need to be everything that every other brand is. There is no point in saying something just because others do. It dilutes your uniqueness and detracts time and space from what sets you apart. And in today's attention-deficit world, time and space are the most scarce commodities.

A caveat here is needed: more aggressive, feature-focused marketing is also necessary at times. Essence marketing also has limitations and won't always work. It is not the best or the only marketing strategy available, but one of many you can utilize. At least now it's in your toolbox, ready for action whenever an opportunity presents itself.