DIFFERENTIATION CONT ...
1 . FLAUNTING
Flaunt means to parade without shame . Flaunting is being unashamed and unapologetic about your organization ’ s flaws . You take pride in your organization ’ s faults . You emphasize them , accentuate them , feature them , highlight them , call attention to them , and openly display them . You definitely aren ’ t trying to hide them or fix them .
Alt Hotels is a great example of flaunting . They created a campaign that brags about all the things you won ’ t find at their hotels . It ’ s called We Do Less . Each of the five ads focuses on what they don ’ t do , and what they do instead :
Try to earn a few more one-star reviews on Amazon or Yelp . Tell your employees to increase the number of complaints . Ring a bell in the office every time you get a nasty email . Try it . The more some people hate you , the more other people will love you .
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema antagonizes when they kick out customers who talk or text during movies . Search YouTube for the angry voicemail a customer sent after being expelled . Alamo turned it into a PSA , warning people not to talk or text in Alamo theaters .
4 . WITHHOLDING
We don ’ t have a minibar .
We don ’ t have a concierge .
We don ’ t have a pool .
We don ’ t offer room service .
We don ’ t have a bellman .
We do have a hip lounge .
We do have an app with all the hot spots .
We do have a pool table .
We do have fresh grab-and-go meals .
We do have a versatile , helpful staff .
Withholding is about limitations , restrictions , boundaries , and constraints . Withholding involves offering fewer options , fewer locations , fewer features , fewer products , fewer services , fewer hours , fewer perks , and fewer discounts . This is about deliberately and relentlessly shrinking the things everyone else is expanding . It is purposefully doing less of what is considered normal by others . By reducing options or completely eliminating them , brands can stand out and differentiate themselves .
Chick-fil-A withholds by being closed on Sundays , not serving burgers , and rejecting 97 % of franchise applications .
5 . SWERVING
Flaunting is the foundation . You can ’ t implement any of the next seven strategies if you are unwilling to practice flaunting .
2 . LOPSIDING
Lopsiding is about being unbalanced , imperfect , unstable , and odd . Lopsiding involves amplifying , not reducing , your brand ’ s flaws . We want you to expand them , magnify them , increase them , turn them up , exaggerate them , and supersize them .
This is what Hardee ’ s ( or Carl ’ s Jr ., if you live on the West Coast ) did with the Thickburger . When other fast-food companies were trying to create healthier options , Hardee ’ s offered the unhealthiest option . And customers loved it .
3 . ANTAGONIZING
Antagonizing is about polarizing , alienating , repelling , and taunting . We want you to deliberately exasperate , irritate , provoke , aggravate , and instigate hostility . Go out of your way to rub people the wrong way .
As an example of withholding , we aren ’ t going to explain swerving .
6 . OPPOSING
Opposing is doing the exact opposite of what others are doing . Opposing brands are unlike other brands . They are contradictory . They refuse to give in , yield , submit , and surrender to the pressure to conform .
REI opposes when they close their stores and website on Black Friday , the biggest shopping day of the year .
7 . MICRO-WEIRDING
As we collected examples for pink goldfish companies , we had some that didn ’ t fit into any specific category but were too good to leave out . So , we created another category , micro-weirding . The Magic Castle Hotel ’ s free popsicle hotline is micro-weird .
12 | MSPSUCCESS . COM