In an earlier post, I touched briefly on the subject of categories in regards to branding.
It is a very important point and deserves its own discussion.
Al Reis discusses this at length in his “22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.”
The best way by far to brand your product is as the first product in a new category. In other words, you don’t tell people you are BETTER than the competition. Basically, you are establishing that there is no competition.
Of course for that to work you have to come up with a new category that your product actually does fit in. And that has to be something that is inherently desirable to your potential customers.
So it can take quite a bit of work to figure that out. But when you do, it can drive your whole marketing effort and cause a huge increase in sales.
Apple branded the iPhone as a new category of cell phone.
The IBM PC, Lite Beer, 7-up (the UnCola), Ben & Jerry’s (super-premium ice cream) are all examples of this.
Of course, if you have a rather generic product, if you are a small company with perhaps only vaguely defined competition, you’ve got your work cut out for you.
It’s worth the effort.