Brand Froundry

The Importance of Focus & Differentiation

Focus & Differentiation are the two most important concepts in brand design. Here’s a few guidelines:

By definition, a brand is not for everyone – therein lies its power.

The more specific your brand’s promise is, the stronger your brand’s equity will be.

Ideally, the brand tells a story that is unique to its organization.

Make your brand different in ways that are real and compelling to your target market.

Number 2 brands should never try to emulate market leaders. Their power (as is true of all brands) lies in promoting their differences.

Whenever possible, a brand should try to own the “next big thing”

Here’s the thing, a good brand promises clear benefits to its target customers. Carefully choosing the most powerful benefits not only results in brand preference, but brand insistence. In other words, your brand is perceived to be the only viable solution for the customer’s need, and the customer will not pursue or accept substitutes.

Ideally, a brand should try to ‘own’ only one or two key benefits, as that is all a customer will remember. The benefits should be understandable, believable, unique and compelling.

Here’s a quick test for your brand and its promise. Can you fill in the blanks with honest and compelling words?

Only [your brand] delivers [unique benefit] to [target customer].

I’ve heard people say ‘our product is a commodity’ or ‘price is all that matters in our category’ or ‘all of the viable positions in our market have been taken.’ Don’t let anyone convince you that your brand can not be focused and differentiated. After all, chicken, bananas, vodka and even water have been branded successfully.

As one of the top brand design firms in utah, Brand Foundry can help you develop focused and differentiated brands, logos, marketing materials, corporate identities and more.