Where the unexpected becomes expected.
We face a continuous challenge: to deliver something our clients would never expect. This makes our industry very different from most others. Because if we deliver what they expect, they won’t need us. They can do it themselves.
Why is the unexpected so important?
If you do the same things as everyone else in your industry, you don’t gain any advantages. This comes down to every detail. If you have the same technical specs, the same business model, the same messages, and the same actions, you will be on par with the rest.
But if you have slightly better tech specs, an adjusted business model, say I – and behave – differently, chances are you have a competitive advantage.
We don’t address R&D, production facilities, or employee perks. We concentrate on delivering a razor-sharp message that lasts over a long time and can be multiplied in many different ways across all imaginable customer touchpoints. We call this a communication concept. It serves as the foundation for building a strong brand.
You own something
The interesting thing about a communication concept is that it is, in one significant way, different from most other things a company does. It represents an intangible value that is owned by the company and cannot be copied by competitors. From a legal perspective, it is an intellectual property resulting from creativity, and it goes along with design rights, patents, copyright, trademarks, etc. B2C brands are well aware of this and keen to protect their intellectual property.
Intellectual property and B2B brands
Traditionally, B2B brands have been more attentive to patents than communication concepts. The logic is that our target groups are narrower, so widespread campaigns mean a lot of waste in media spending. And locking competitors out with patents is important. This is true. The difference is that communication concepts are yours as long as you maintain them. Patents have a finite lifespan.
And it is also true that the underlying logic between B2C and B2B is similar. If everything else is similar, the buying decision comes down to perceptions. Ultimately, it’s about someone feeling more trust in one brand than another. And that goes for when you are buying toothpaste in the grocery store, as well as when you decide to buy new submarines for your country – which you should think is 100% rational.
Buying a submarine? Check out the ads
But if you have followed the Canadian inquiry to buy submarines for the navy, you may have recognised the two companies competing: South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Here, the Germans are doing it in silence, the traditional way, but the South Koreans are challenging with an ad campaign to build confidence in them as contenders. Check it out here. They clearly believe there is an opportunity to use communication tools in ways B2B companies rarely do. And if they win the competition, their investments are peanuts compared to the win.
This is how the Unexpected comes into play: we call it the Unexpected Brand Funnel. The purpose of the unexpected is to get Attention. Hopefully, it increases the brand’s Likeability and thereby grows Trust. This can turn into a Relationship where it becomes “My Brand”. Not rocket science theory, but surprisingly few in B2B companies are aware of it.
Adapt to resources and goals, and you get an advantage
Our experience is that it can, of course, be used for big global brands, but to every brand that experiences competition this way of thinking adds a competitive advantage. And it does not need to be on billboards. To work on the details can make a huge difference –it’s just a matter of scope, implementation, and using existing resources to the maximum.
Report from Canadian Press on YouTube.