Look all around and you can see sameness emblazoned unabashedly. In the culture where “ people like us do things like this ” only.
Whether it is in social media posts and the status quoted, the perennial quest is to be like the next, the me too, the also ran, without of course the realisation that they are going down south rapidly down a rabbit hole. Being tribal might have something to do with it. The perceived security in sameness and conformity being the tyrants here.
When we were telling ourselves at ISD Global why people should even consider talking to us, let alone do business with us, the common refrain that emerged was ” The world certainly does not another advertising or branding agency “. Yet, it could do with an other agency. So, the effort at all times was how can we remain relevant while being distinct and compelling. We were prepared to put the right thing in the new place and discover what that leads to viz new thinking, new perspectives, new possibilities.
A simple pointer. We notice things because of contrast or contradiction not because of something blending into the background. In any case, the brain remembers what it least expects, so, the least you do is deliver the unexpected. If you do not wave the flag on your individuality, your sense of style, leaving your footprint, no (by design) anomaly, or your idiosyncracy, you get relegated to the background. The map is not the territory, neither is noise the signal.
This malaise of sameness is everywhere: marketing campaigns, business pitches, or movie trailers, each trying to outdo one another while somehow sounding exactly the same. Some elementary reminder here: Consumers are statistics, customers are people.
In our space, there is always talk about competitive advantage. The best route to enhance that into a competitive sustainable advantage is to understand that no one can out-you, you!
Let the rough edges show- let the power of vulnerability be a calling hard. In a frenetically commoditised world, USP is passe.
Go for UFP(Unique Feelings Proposition)!