BRAND STRATEGY
Building a brand? Success comes down to one thing
Timid brands need not apply
When cosmetics brand Glossier first launched via a large subway campaign in New York City, my first thought was that this brand is going to fail.
I got it wrong. Last week, Glossier announced a Series E funding round of $80 million, pushing their total valuation $1.7 Billion.
Why did I think that Glossier would fail?
Glossier did not fit my conception of what a beauty brand should look like. The plastic product containers, the use of emojis, the bubble wrap packaging, the non-serif and non-fussed font… None of this screamed something I want to put on my face. It didn’t have the shiny, glass, and serious aesthetic of luxury cosmetics, or the muted beige of natural ingredients.
And that is why Glossier succeeded. In a word, Glossier is distinctive.
Distinctive:
1a: marking as separate or different : serving to distinguish | the distinctive flight of the crane
b: having or giving an uncommon and appealing quality : having or giving style or distinction | a distinctive table setting| a writer with a distinctive prose style
Source: Merriam-Webster
Distinctive brands stand out. And that is a challenge these days, as every category is flooded with a wave of similarly designed direct-to-consumer brands, and advertising costs rise across Facebook and other digital platforms.
Of course, a standout positioning still has to be something people want. Glossier touched a nerve, hitting a spot of playful, fun, human style of beauty not currently on the market. Going after this positioning required insight (founder Emily Weiss knew the industry inside and out as Founder of popular beauty blog Into the Gloss) but it also required bravery to break from category norms.
This bravery is rewarded in multiple ways. For one, it captures attention. Glossier, whether I liked it or not, caught my attention with a single 2016 ad campaign.
Yesterday, I was on London’s tube, and saw the following ad for men’s brand Burton. The photo is nice. But the branding could not be more… boring. Many brands could put their logo on this ad.
Second, distinctiveness provides a moat. A successful brand with zero distinctive elements will quickly be copied. A brand like Glossier has claimed a space that others will find tough to copy without looking like a second rate version of the original.
Don’t miss out on brand insights — Sign up for monthly emails on brand marketing.
Looking for help growing your brand?
I run brand consultancy Embedded — where I partner with companies on growth and brand strategy.
Not sure where to start? Many clients opt for ad-hoc coaching — hourly consultations on any aspect of your marketing and brand strategy. Get in touch here.
If you liked this piece, you may also like:
