Making brands more distinctive

It has never been easier to connect with people and potential customers and there has never been a greater focus on the formats and mediums that help us do this. From the relatively new kids on the block like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram to the old guard of content makers, newspapers and magazines, with their new digital channels

The majority of brands are quick to use the latest medium. However, this pre-occupation with the newest and latest often hides a deep strategic failing: brand purpose.

Take the supermarket sector as an example.

A recent Which? report placed Waitrose and Marks and Spencer at the top of a readership survey for quality and service. No surprises there. Aldi scrapes in at third scoring the lowest mark possible (one star) for store appearance, staff availability and quality of own-label products. However, it is bumped up the table with a full five stars for value.

However, even though Waitrose and M&S are pressing all the right buttons when it comes to branding they simply aren’t doing the sales compared to Aldi. Despite Aldi rejecting the traditional quality mantra of the retail experience and the new call for retail to be more and more experiential they improve sales and keep gaining market share simply through the singular brand purpose of value.

In 2018 Aldi managed sales growth of 12%. Even market leader Tesco could only manage 2.4%. And we all know of the woes of M&S and Waitrose when it comes to sales.

And you know what, this adherence to brand purpose makes Aldi’s advertising better too.

According to Marketing Week UK consumers voted Aldi’s ‘Like Brands, Only Cheaper’ their favourite campaign of the 2010s.

A clear, consistent brand purpose leads to much better creative output. There’s less to muddy the waters. Clarity creates cut-through in the noisiest of environments. It’s why us ad agencies insist on simplifying everything down to the most punchy, memorable and relevant.

So both the promise Aldi makes through its ads and the real-world store experience deliver on their brand purpose of value.

You don’t have to be an Aldi to deliver great creative that supports your brand purpose. To help consumers connect with your brand You just need a clear offer that dispenses with the superfluous. It’s not about denying all the great things your brand does but understanding that consumers respond best to clear, consistent, authentic, unambiguous ideas.

So, keep it simple. Find signature actions and exploit them for all they are worth.

Even though Aldi reject the traditional quality-led brand values many of us hold dear we should celebrate what they do for their laser-like accuracy in maintaining a clear brand purpose and therefore competitive advantage in a sea of mixed messages, virtue signalling and pointless content.

PS:  M&S have announced that they are bringing back their successful “This is Not Just…” food campaign. A truly singular and powerful idea that presents a true brand purpose may be back.