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The Day Of The Clones…

“Seeking best practice, benchmarking and best in class sound important. But they all mean that you’re copying your competitors. And because your competitors are professional, they will copy you back. Today, everyone is searching for the same best practice. Everyone benchmarks against each other. Everyone is copying each other and so their brands are becoming clones.

In the end, a brand only has one choice to make; to be different or to be the same as all the others.” says Simon Silvester: Y&R’s EVP, Head of Planning for Europe Middle East and Africa.

In his recently published book entitled, “Day of the Clones”, he describes differentiation as the Holy Grail of marketing, because it’s the secret to growing brands and keeping them ahead of their competition.

Clone brands, eventually struggle to attract new customers and fail to increase their margins. If a brand has high levels of differentiation, most of its other problems are not as serious.

There are a few things marketers can do to grow their differentiation:

Talk to non-consumers. An excellent example of this is when Nintendo created the Wii. They engaged with people who didn’t use video gaming consoles and asked them why they didn’t. The girls, for instance responded that unlike their brothers, they didn’t enjoy killing things. The brand adapted by launching its Cooking Mama, Wii Fit and Nintendogs games.

Have vision. The Body Shop managed to differentiate when it moved away from its competitors and took a stand against animal testing.

Reinvent. By doing so, a brand keeps differentiating. The iPod developed the capability to carry more songs, adding photos, then podcasts, then videos and then it introduced a touch interface, wifi, plus music and application stores. Not all digitally based brands do this. In fact, most banks haven’t added any more facilities to their ATMs since the 1980s.

Be dynamic. Change your offer to keep the brand fresh and irresistible.

Play on scarcity. Clothing retailer, Zara doesn’t restock ranges once the items sell out, which encourages shoppers to buy what they like when they see it.

Rethink your business model. Prince took a look at decreasing CD sales in 2008, and realised that he was at risk of not making great sales of his new album. So in the UK, he gave the album away on the front of the Daily Mail newspaper and his subsequent concert tour sold out.

Make it real. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was a great computer game and the improved graphics of Grand Theft Auto IV, makes it feel even more realistic, enhancing the experience.

Play on ego. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training for the Nintendo DS has been a big hit amongst fifty-something adults, because it’s upfront about how weak their mental faculties are. ‘You have the brain of an eighty year-old’ screams Dr Kawashima at his terrified users.

Don’t worry about value for money. The Red Bull can is smaller than a typical soft drink can. That’s what makes people think Red Bull is special.

Repeat - do not worry about value for money. Baileys was the leader in the cream liqueur market until Diageo pushed the price up beyond the competition. Women still ordered Baileys for fear of looking like a cheap date. Today Baileys is in a class of its’ own.

Don’t dismiss what may initially sound weird. How did a pen with a squishy grip be positioned as a stress-relieving health benefit? The idea has built Dr. Grip into a powerful brand in Japan in the past few years.

Fraser Lamb, Group CEO of Y&R Brands SA concludes, “Knowing about differentiation is good, but knowing how to grow it is invaluable. Y&R appeals to marketers to understand differentiation above all today. Common brands stuck in the clone zone include those in the banking, insurance, airline, automotive and telecoms industry sectors. Getting out of that zone is hard work, but with our help any brand in any sector can do it.”

On behalf of: Y&R Brands SA
Contact:  Michelle Cavé, PR Director
Tel: +2711 797 6300/18
Email: michelle_cave@za.yr.com    

Note to editor:
Content used in this article is sourced from Simon Silvester’s booklet, ‘Day of the Clones’. The emailable version of this booklet is available for free download at pubs.yr.com/clones.pdf. Permission to quote extracts from this book is also freely given, as long as such extracts are clearly attributed to Y&R Advertising.