WARC published an article titled WARC from Home: Distinctive brand assets – what they are and why they matter.
« A distinctive brand asset is a non-brand-name trigger for a brand name in category buyer memory. These can take verbal, visual or auditory form: think of Mastercard’s deep associate with the word ‘priceless’, McDonald’s instantly-recognisable golden arches, or Intel’s famous five-note mnemonic. »
The article refers to Prof. Jenni Romaniuk’s Distinctive Assets Grid. The x-axis is Uniqueness. The y-axis is fame. The target point is high-fame, high-uniqueness. Low-fame, high-uniqueness could have investment potential.
Jenni Romaniuk is the author of Building Distinctive Brand Assets and the co-author of How Brands Grow: Part 2: Emerging Markets, Services, Durables, New and Luxury Brands.
« Distinctiveness is not the same as having a differentiated positioning in the market. »
« Our brains constantly look for patterns and shortcuts (heuristics) to lighten the cognitive load; easily-recognisable brands simplify our decision-making processes. A ‘Fluent Device’ is a creative conceit (slogan or character) used consistently as part of long-running campaigns to help brands create that memorability – from Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger to The Aflac Duck. »
« Weetabix … described the breakfast cereal brand’s revival of an abandoned strapline as akin to discovering “a Rembrandt in the attic” – a move which helped to deliver £4.5m in additional revenue in a declining category. »
« Birds Eye brought back its well-loved Captain Birdseye character and updated him for today’s consumers, making him more authentic and laid back, resulting in a media ROI increase of 24%. »