Freelance copywriters:

my BMWs, it is thoroughly reliable, enormously economical and, after a trouble free 34 thousand miles, as good as the day I bought it” (skoda.co.uk).

But the image was not right. The advertising campaign reflected this with humorous sequences where people would admire the car until they realised it was a Škoda.

Not that I’m saying Kate Moss is like a Škoda.

Apple Macintosh should not really be compared to Kate Moss either (unless, of course, we’re talking aesthetics), but their brand is also unusual. Their slogan “Think Different” is instructive. I believe that is exactly what one should do.

How to think different:

1. Product

2. Audience/market

3. Competition

4. Advertising

How is your product different from others? If it’s not, how can you place it in a marketable niche so that it appears different, better and more desirable?

To whom do you speak? What are your audience used to? Can you expose them to a different way of thinking? Can you make them sit up and take notice? If you’re not already doing that then you are failing quite fundamentally.

Who is the competition? What are they doing? DON’T COPY THEM! By all means out-do them. Be funnier, scarier, more up-to-date, but don’t be part of the herd – you have to lead it.

Is your advertising sitting in a queue, looking like everyone else’s tired old copy? Or is it in your face, or hilarious, or totally original?

We all have the same tools to work with, it up to you how you use them. I believe that it is best to be a little different if you can be. You can only win.

To Conclude

Develop a brand. If you are unusual – great – use it to sell. If not, attempt to get yourself noticed. You can only do that if you stand out, use your idiosyncrasies to lead the market.

So, as Kate moss might say, that’s a wrap.

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