My comments on Danny Brown's Surprise - Disrespecting Competitors Doesn't Work!

Surprise – Disrespecting Competitors Doesn’t Work! - by Danny Brown

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My thoughts (That I can't add to Danny's blog directly!):
This topic came up both yesterday and today in different contexts, but has been prevalent throughout my career.

Work (present day):
Yesterday we were discussing how to compare our services to that of a competitor, without actually mentioning the competitor. A very long and detailed competitive summary was developed, pros and cons were listed, and the key features that differentiated our services from that of our competitor were easily identified. We began pulling together some copy while talking about both creative and delivery method. We never even thought about using the competition in the marketing piece we were developing - it was suggested at one point as a joke. We were able to create a well thought-out piece that highlights how we're better without even discussing the competitions faults.

Work (past lives):
Once I worked for the true 'industry leader' in our field. This company was the first to patent a product, trademarked the name and it was quickly becoming the 'Xerox' of its day. We didn't have to compare ourselves to the competition, as they targeted a different demographic and couldn't use the commonly known name for the product, so we had the natural advantage. When our competition would compare themselves to us, we would actively go after them for trademark infringement or false advertising. We were very 'brand' conscious and everything revolved around keeping the brand secure. I spent hours going through google and eBay finding companies misusing our trademark and using false or misleading statements in their advertising it was ridiculous. It worked though. We kept the brand so pure that someone ended up purchasing the company and merging us with our chief competitor, who started using our brand to sell their products. I wasn't sorry to leave that organization.

I've also worked for a very large corporation that would create one-off marketing pieces that compared us to our competition. I wasn't thrilled about these, especially when we had trouble finding areas we excelled in! This system was fraught with issues, and thankfully wasn't done as the 'norm'. Regardless, I didn't stay there very long.

Non-Work:
While riding with my mom today (after she took me to a lovely lunch!), we were discussing automobile commercials that compare their car to a competitor. I drive a MINI, so we thought it amusing that someone would say they were so much better than the MINI on so many levels, but at half the price! We agreed that it was unlikely that this other car was so much better than the MINI, because whenever we hear a 'we're better than XXXXXX' commercial we assume the 'we' is probably no where near as good. In fact, when car maker A says 'we are better than car maker B', I'm likely to check out car maker B to see why car maker A has to say they're better.

It's not just cars though... The PC vs Mac commercials - whenever they compare the two side by side it annoys me to no end.

There is no true benefit to going 'negative', but comparing in advertising and marketing is quickly becoming the new way for a company to go negative and lose favor in the consumers' eyes.

And that's all I have to say about that (for right now!)

I am a horrible blogger.

Yes, I admit it. My last post was 3 months ago, and I'm not sorry. I have been busy practicing what I preach, teaching a class, and relaxing at the shore. Go figure - I need down time.

Umm.... yeah, that's it! I was way too busy to blog!

Truth be told I was busy, but have spent time on Twitter trying to respond to other bloggers who are more dedicated than I. Unfortunately I am unable to respond to many (due to technical difficulties), so I've decided to use my blog for good, add linklove to the blogs I read ,and post my responses here.

Hopefully I'll be able to add more meaningful content of my own, but I like other peoples' content so much that I want to share!

If I am responding to a blog of yours via this forum, I do apologize. You most likely use disqus to manage your comments, and it is blocked for me at work!

I could start a petition to have it unblocked, but I don't think it will do much good, so accept my apologies for commenting on your blog here, but know that I would love to participate in the discussion over there!

-H

(oh, and someday I'll even add links to this from my own website, brand it similarly and do to my site and blog what I do to some of my clients' sites and blogs. Not right now though!)