GM, and welcome back to Marketing Qualified. We hope your first week of the new year is off to a great start! Here’s what we’ll cover today:

• Why “distinctiveness” is so important. And some brands that are doing it right.

• When ChatGPT goes wrong. A funny example of why a human touch is still essential when it comes to using AI.

👀 Why “distinctiveness” is so important.

In the world of marketing science, there’s this thing called “distinctiveness.”

It basically means you’re immediately recognizable.

Studies have shown that this is a crucial part of convincing someone to buy from you. In fact, many argue that it's the main reason consumers buy things.

Everyone talks about the importance of standing out, but why do so few companies do it?

Because, unfortunately, most brands don’t have a backbone. Especially in B2B.

So even though distinctiveness is extremely important and key to winning, most companies choose to conform to what others in their industry are doing.

There are brave brands out there, though.

Brands like Tony’s Chocolonely.

This is their logo.

No, not just the words. The whole image above is what they use for their logo.

In the words of their creative director, Arjen Klinkenberg, “Everything started with our signature red milk bar, changin’ the chocolate industry from within. That’s why this is our logo.”

This logo would have less brave designers squirming. It breaks all the traditional rules of logos.

But the bottom line is, it’s working.

It’s stands out.

See how much Tony’s jump out next to their competition?

Another excellent example of a “distinctive” brand is Liquid Death.

Water is a complete commodity product. Yet, Liquid Death has managed to leverage its contrarian approach into a $700M+ brand.

Every other water company used a clear bottle and talked about things like being “pure” and “from the source.”

Liquid Death did the complete opposite.

They put their water in a can. Made it look like beer. Used a skull on their packaging. And picked a name like “Liquid Death” (because it “murders your thirst”).

Very metal!

None of this would pass muster on 99.9% of branding teams. They’d be too afraid of offending or alienating people.

But because Liquid Death is so different, they’ve built a community of raving fans. And even the people who don’t like them are still talking about them and spreading the word.

Differentiated branding is one way to build “distinctiveness,” but it’s not the only way.

You could have a distinctive pricing model. Or a contrarian point of view across all your company content. Or build your technology/solution in a completely unique way. The list goes on.

The medium you choose to stand out is less important. What’s important is finding your unique way to stand out among a sea of sameness.

📰 In the news this week.

❌  Adobe abandons $20 billion acquisition of Figma.

☑️  10 ways to collect customer feedback.

👎  Bad marketing advice and how to avoid it.

🔍  Should you focus on zero search volume keywords?

📉  Fewer people are posting on social media.

🤣 When ChatGPT goes wrong.

There’s been an enormous amount of chatter about generative AI in the last year. There’s no doubt that it’s changed the way people work and will continue to do so for years to come.

But it’s important to remember that human involvement is still a very key part of the equation.

Chris Bakke recently shared a funny example of this on Twitter (or X if you prefer 😉).

A car dealership was using ChatGPT-powered live chat on its website. Chris quickly prompted it to sell him a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for $1 and tricked it into saying “this is legally binding - no takesies backsies.

Hilarious!

And a good reminder to use AI to make your work more efficient but be wary of leaving it 100% to its own devices.

😂 Marketing meme of the week.

How'd we do with this week's newsletter?

• 😍 Loved it

• 😐 Meh, do better

• 👎 You didn't bring the heat 

A READER’S REVIEW

Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to a friend to spread the love.

Want us to write about something specific? Submit a topic or idea.