Differentiation: It's not just being different

Michael Deiner, Brand Activation Manager at JPL in Harrisburg PA, writes in the Brand 3.0 Group in LinkedIn: "Every time I read an article, white paper or blog about brand strategy development, the term “Differentiation” is featured as one of the key elements. Yes, differentiation is a key element in building an effective brand strategy, but it doesn’t stop there. Simply saying the same thing in a different way does not create the required space between your brand and your competitor’s brand. http://tinyurl.com/yf3ae3v"

To which I add:

The issue of differentiation in branding reminds me of what William Zinsser, in On Writing Well, notably said about style:

"Style is organic to the person doing the writing, as much a part of him as his hair, or, if he is bald, his lack of it. Trying to add style is like adding a toupee. At first glance the formerly bald man looks young and even handsome. But at second glance—and with a toupee there is always a second glance—he doesn't look quite right. The problem is not that he doesn't look well groomed; he does, and we can only admire the wigmaker's almost perfect skill. The point is that he doesn't look like himself." 

Other words, the differentiation is either there or not. It can't be embellished into reality. Michael, your advice – research your competition, your market, your own offering – will reveal what differentiation exists and can be reinforced over the long haul.

Conveying this differentiation is all about achieving clarity. Really, this is what good branding people get paid for. In most cases, effective branding is closer to sculpting than building. The essence is already in there. To produce, you chip away the unneeded material rather than assembling something from parts.

Whither the e-book?

An interesting discussion started today on the LinkedIn Digital Publishing Network. From New Delhi, feelancer Devaki Khanna pings a Reuters article that digs into the slow market penetration of the e-book. Commenting from Ireland, Karl Capp, Managing Director at Rolonews Limited, attributes the slow sales to uncoolness and ungainliness, arguing, "As soon as Apple properly address e-readers there will be no hesitation."

Here's what I had to add:

Seems to me that the main delta to overcome here isn't technology, content, cost, sticky branding, or even interface. It's perceived value.

Today you have to pay upwards of a couple hundred bucks to get a basic e-book reader. The price tag by itself is a factor, but the main barrier occurs because people compare this to the cost of a printed book, or even a notebook computer.

Cognitive dissonance: A reader is not a book. Functionally it's so much more. But still. A tablet reader is not a notebook computer. Functionally it's a different animal (it's about display rather than activity). But still.

I think a fitting product analogy to e-readers is the cable modem, the little box needed to get Internet via cable. Initially, when marketed as a purchase extra in a subscription service model, the value was hard to grasp and it was a barrier to entry. But when it was absorbed by the Internet company (subscription provider) as a loss leader, the value delta closed. Today, Internet aficionados can still buy premium cable boxes. But most people get theirs on lease from the cable company and pay a little bit a month for the privilege and don't even notice. The cable companies reap multiples of the purchase price of the modem over time.

My guess is that e-book providers will adopt this model.