Not Just Different but Meaningfully Different
For many years, a smooth green stone has sat on my desk. It's a piece of serpentine that I was given when, as a small child, I visited an artist's workshop in Scotland. Truthfully, it's a pretty unremarkable rock, and I doubt that anyone else would find it interesting, but it means something to me.
You may have some trinket or memento on your desk as well—something that doesn’t have any practical purpose and appears insignificant to others, but is meaningful to you. Your unique history with the object makes it special.
I think the fact that we can form such attachments with relatively inconsequential objects illustrates a too-often-overlooked concept that is important for brands and brand marketing: the concept of meaningful difference. A presentation I saw recently, created by the agency BBH, also focuses on the concept of difference. The presentation proclaimed that the "classic" communications model, in which communication that is relevant, different, and motivating leads to behavioral change, has given way to the "insight" model, in which changes in behavior are effected by communication that is simply relevant and motivating.
"We have forgotten the power of difference, " BBH asserted. I am afraid that they are right—and that this amnesia applies to both communication and branding. Many marketers today value relevance to the exclusion of difference—and to the detriment of their brands.
