Day of the clones

This paper argues that the most important thing for a brand is its differentiation from others; yet it is less and less being achieved, because all the marketing pressures (best practices, benchmarking, best research, management practice etc.) impel towards brand cloning: effectively, competitors copy each other.

Day of the clones

Simon Silvester

Tom is a brand manager. His approach is thoroughly professional. He's searching the world for best practice, and is bringing it to his brand. He's also benchmarking his brand against competitors, making it look as good as they do. And he's optimising his communication plans, ensuring they're best-in-class.

'Seeking best practice', 'benchmarking' and 'best-in-class' sound important. But they all mean Tom is copying his competitors. And because his competitors are professionals too, they are copying Tom back. In today's world, everyone is searching for the same best practice. Everyone benchmarks against each other. And...

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