For decades the received wisdom in marketing was that successful brands were perceived as different by consumers. Then in 2010 along came Byron Sharp with his book ‘How Brands Grow1’, stating that the importance of difference had been massively over-stated and being distinctive, i.e. coming to mind easily in buying situations, is what matters. Cue a decade long debate between the advocates of distinctiveness versus differentiation.
It always seemed a rather pointless debate to me, like arguments about whether Lennon or McCartney was the better songwriter when the magic of the Beatles came from their combination. In...
