Tom WANTS a red sports car, or an orange hot-hatch. But he ends up buying a sedan in silver instead. It isn’t going to offend his in-laws, doesn’t really have to be detailed, and even has better resale value. It’s the safest option. But now, Tom drives his new car to work, surrounded by a sea of Dicks and Harrys who’ve also bought the same car in the same colour.
Similarly, the world right now is filled with brands and products that look like the next one.
Bravery, today, has become rare. Brands have forgotten about the mavericks of the past that have got us this far. Mavericks who chose the red sports car.
Brands think safety is a strategy, but it’s just commoditisation, really.
Now, our fellow goose, let’s see why brand exuberance might not be a one way ticket to eternal damnation.
Coffin for two, please
Open ten websites in the same industry. What do you see? No really, open ten websites right now. Choose the cloud technology space for example.
Smiling stock photos and generic words like ‘innovative’, ‘customer first’, and ‘passionate about excellence’. Words meant to target the entirety of the world.
When you try to appeal to everyone, you sand down every sharp edge. You remove personality, opinion, and anything that might spark emotion. You remove potential for uniqueness.
What you are left with is a blunt tool unable to carve a niche.
In the long run, customers will start looking for a brand with the best price and not the best value. What happens next is cannibalism - a mass undercut that, eventually, kills you and your competition.
If you like your front teeth
Think of brands that punch above their weight. They are rarely neutral, have a unique point of view, know who they are for and who they are not for.
Successful brands choose a side. They believe something strongly enough to say it out loud, even when it has the potential to make people uncomfortable.
Please don’t get us wrong, this is not about being offensive for sport. It is about being intentional. A brave brand understands its values and is willing to live with the consequences of expressing them.
That expression might be political, cultural, or simply a refusal to follow category norms. Either way, it creates friction.
And remember, friction is what keeps you from falling on your face.
“I really needed this…”
People do not build relationships with brands they feel nothing about. Love, anger, admiration, even irritation. These are all stronger than indifference.
If you don't believe us, take a look at neuromarketing research that consistently shows emotional engagement driving decision-making more than rational argument.
Now that you think about it, it's pretty obvious - boring ideas do not get talked about. They do not get shared. And most importantly, they do not get defended.
We like to think we buy using logic. But we really don’t, do we? We just buy emotionally and justify the purchase with logic.
Differentiation demands discomfort
Differentiation is uncomfortable because it requires saying no. No to trends, generic messaging, and stakeholders who want to uproot the bougainvillea in your garden.
True brand positioning is about standing out ideologically, and not just visually.
That means having opinions about pricing, quality, customer experience, sustainability, culture, or how your industry should behave, and then backing up those opinions consistently if you truly believe it will have a positive impact on your brand.
Honesty really is the best policy
A brave brand provokes by being honest, refusing to dilute its message. Difficult conversations are essential along the road to success. However, there is a crucial distinction to make: it is not provocation for its own sake, but rather provocation as a result of truth.
Along that road, if people are angry because you exposed a hypocrisy, challenged a lazy assumption, or refused to play along with nonsense, you are probably on the right track. But if people are angry because you were sloppy, misleading, or offensive without a noble purpose, a re-evaluation might be in order.
The difference is intent and integrity.
Playing it safe is the riskiest move of all
Markets are crowded. Attention spans are microscopic. Our good friend Algorithm rewards engagement, not politeness.
The biggest risk today is being ignored.
By trying to avoid offending anyone, brands often end up offending the one group that matters most - Their potential true believers. People who seek clarity, conviction, and character.
A brand without at least a couple of edges cannot cut through noise.
