Distinctive assets: the value of consistency

Blog Bethan Palmer – Client Consultant

As the UK starts to slowly emerge from lockdown, brands are launching new campaigns to recognise the ‘unprecedented’ period we’ve lived through. Jemma touched on purpose in her last blog and highlighted the importance of authenticity.

For me, authenticity can show up in a number of ways. From a brand perspective, there is something about knowing what you are as a brand, how you want people to view you, and sticking to that. And part of this includes consistent use of what Byron Sharp refers to as distinctive assets. These assets allow brands to build upon existing memory structures, making it as easy as possible for people to know ‘who’ is advertising and allowing them to concentrate on deeper, more emotive engagement.  Our research shows distinctiveness is a key driver in both engagement and correct branding of an ad, proof that distinctive assets do work.

There’s a glass & a half

Distinctive assets go much further than a logo or even a colour. They transcend the way a brand presents itself, the language used, the tone. Yes, we see the unmistakable purple in a Cadbury ad, but we also hear the mention of a ‘glass & a half’, and the emotional link to generosity which has in recent years differentiated Cadbury from other confectionery brands, who have played in the fun/fantastical space.

Many brands play well in this space. Some recent examples I’ve loved included McDonald’s suite of assets advertising McDelivery – a clever campaign in many ways. Firstly, McDelivery isn’t actually something they have full control of, they are dependent on third party delivery companies to deliver for them. In the UK, this means Just Eat and Uber Eats, but the equity remains heavily with McDonald’s in the current positioning. The second thing I love about the campaign, and this is kudos to ad agency Leo Burnett, is the very clever use of distinctive assets – in this case, the golden arch symbolising getting the food from restaurant to home. The creative is so simple, but instantly recognisable as McDonald’s, with a clear, singular message making things as easy as possible to understand.

good things come to those…

Another excellent example is for the ever brilliant Guinness, courtesy of the equally brilliant team at AMV BBDO. As ever, the advert is beautiful, but my fondness for it goes further than this. The use of iconic black and white imagery throughout the ad immediately calls to mind an image of a pint of Guinness. Now for Guinness lovers, a pint from a can just doesn’t compare to the pint you receive in a pub after the absolutely necessary 119.5 seconds it should take to pour the perfect one. And here we see another use of a distinctive asset. The tag line ‘good things come to those who wait’, usually reserved for talking about the wait whilst the perfect pint is poured, but this time referring to the long-awaited return to the pub, which coupled with a Jack Savoretti version of the Elvis classic ‘You were always on my mind’ works perfectly.

…who are consistent

One thing both McDonald’s and Guinness share is a powerful, long relationship with their creative agencies. McDonald’s and Leo’s have worked together for over 20 years, and AMV BBDO secured the Guinness account in 1996, where the ‘good things come to those who wait’ slogan formed an integral part of their pitch. This goes to show consistency, as well as authenticity, really does work!

McDonald’s and Guinness are both extremely lucky to have such strong, distinctive assets. They clearly know they work and have agencies that know this too. At DVJ we can help other brands understand their distinctiveness, using a smart combination of implicit techniques and academically validated principles. For more information on a Distinctive Assets Check get in touch!