Employer Branding
Making Your Brand Original
Like your competitor's ideas? The fine line between inspiration and imitation.
We all know it's tempting to copy the competition. There's safety in conformity--a certain "comfort factor" in being similar. After all, the other company knows what it's doing, right? Not always.
First, remember that branding is about differentiation--emphasizing your company's differences, not similarities. When you copy the competition, you're reminding customers of them, not you. However, there's a difference between exact imitation and creative inspiration. Use creativity to leverage an existing idea, but avoid replicating its every detail. So when is it okay to follow someone else's lead and when isn't it?
Of course, plagiarism is out, and it's illegal to copy anything that's patented or trademarked. Here are some other less obvious things you may be tempted to copy but shouldn't:
• Don't imitate the design/layout of sales materials. Copying a competitor's materials is never a good idea because instead of differentiating your business, it makes you look more like your competitor. It's fine to imitate basics of their material like "lots of white space" or forced-perspective product photos (just don't use the same perspective!). But avoid choosing similar colors, graphics and layout.
• Don't imitate the content or style of your competitor's copywriting, or you'll literally sound just like the competition. Instead, create your own unique "voice" and messaging. Good copy has a consistent, strategic tone to it (e.g., conversational, direct, humorous, etc.) that reflects the personality of the company and product. When done correctly, copywriting is an integral part of branding.
• Don't imitate the primary color your competitor uses. Select at least one unique color to associate with your company--use it in your logo, on sales materials, product packing, signage, etc. (You can use a Pantone...
View Full Essay