Follow your own STAR

Any chance in 2025 we can end some of marketing’s ongoing debates?
Like Distinctiveness vs. Differentiation.
Or Availability vs. Connection.
Or STP vs. MBA.
If only they realised how intertwined they all are.
Well, Christmas is a good time to remind them.
Of course, distinctiveness is how you stand out. Being noticed and recognised as you.
And differentiation is what you stand for. As long as it makes a difference, of course.
But you can’t have one without the other. We remember what we want to remember.
It’s like saying availability is simply easy to mind, easy to find. But why does a brand come easily to mind? Because there’s some kind of connection there, based on what we need.
Based on past experience, as much as anything. Never forget how central the product is.
But prior to trial, based on a promise. This is what we promise to do for you. And this is why you can believe us.
It all comes together in those two apparently opposing theories, Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning and Market-Based Assets. More energy has been expended on that debate than Bitcoin.
For all the clouds of hot air, it comes down to this. STP is about what the brand evokes, whereas MBA is about what evokes the brand. And you need both.
I understand the perils of talking too romantically about emotional connection, but I continue to think all brands should make one. You can’t ignore people’s implicit goals just because the water’s too deep for you.
I also reckon it’ll always look like ‘distinctiveness then differentiation’ from the evidence back-end and ‘differentiation then distinctiveness’ from the creative front-end. But from a consumer’s point of view, the two are one.
What would help marketing, at least in a LinkedIn context, is to stop wanting to disagree about everything. It’s not a good look for an industry that struggles enough to be taken seriously.
We should focus on what we individually stand for and that can’t just be what others say is the law. If you do that, what’s your positioning?
And it also can’t be all about standing out, like the new Jaguar campaign. That’s just being a nuisance.
So follow your own star, if you can find it in the light-polluted sky.
Me, I’m about deeper needs make stronger brands. That’s what I’ll be helping with and writing about in 2025.
But first, I’m going to have a bit of a celebration.
Because the next post will be my 200th.
And the one after that will coincide with Closer to Brands’ 20th birthday.
So sod the brief, time for some fun.
Happy Christmas, everyone.