It’s an unfortunate truth that, within any given industry, most companies’ marketing messages look, read and sound alike. They tend to say the same things in the same ways — even their appearance is often the same. How many bank ads have you seen featuring a smiling row of bankers? Or hospital ads showing confident-looking doctors or nurses with arms folded? What are those ads saying? All the same things. That’s not branding. If your message — no matter the medium — is going to have a chance of getting through and being remembered (let alone acted upon), it has to be noticeably different. Zig when the others zag. Be bold. Be funny. Be brief. Be memorable.
