Brands need to be different and distinctive
I believe that truly strong brands – the brands that command a price premium and still grow faster than their competition – possess both qualities and that both are important. But people often assume that differentiation and distinctiveness are the same thing. With that in mind, here is my take on distinctiveness. You can find my definition of differentiation here.
Distinctiveness ensures a brand is recognized quickly and intuitively
A brand achieves distinctiveness when it has a unique and unmistakable identity. Distinctiveness is driven by sensory and semantic cues that make the brand easy to recognize, for example name, design, colors, packaging, logo, or advertising style. I presume that Sharp calls distinctiveness "meaningless" because whether a font is large or small, red, or blue, has nothing to do with the actual product. It is all about brand identity.
Distinctiveness is a big asset in a cluttered world
Distinctiveness is hugely important. Distinctiveness ensures a brand be recognized on a crowded street, shelf, or web page. Recognition ideally triggers a positive intuitive response and influences whether that brand is bought. If someone needs to stop and figure out which brand they are looking at, that brand is already on the back foot. In today's cluttered world recognition is a big advantage.
Distinctive assets create mental connectivity
Distinctive brand assets also help create the mental connectivity that links together disparate contacts with the brand to help form an overall impression of what the brand stands for. For instance, unless someone can readily recognize the brand featured in an ad there is little chance that any impression from the ad will attach to the brand in people's minds.
Distinctiveness and difference often go hand in hand
Even when you remove the influence of brand size – whereby brand users are always more likely to say good things about their brand than are non-users – perceptions of distinctiveness and difference are correlated. An analysis of BrandZ data comparing the two statements "stand for something unique" and "have a distinctive look and feel" found a correlation of 0.78.
When you think about brands like Dyson, Oreo, IKEA, Jack Daniel's, or McDonald's, it is easy to see how for some brands the two qualities are inextricably linked. They are both different and distinctive by design and therein lies their strength.
What do you think? Do you have a different take on distinctiveness? Please share your thoughts.