Differentiation and Creativity
June 2, 2025
A few notes from the intersection of AI, marketing, branding, and small business.
100 Years of Solitude. I just finished reading Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece and the reason he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, 100 Years of Solitude. The story details the history of a small town and the numerous generations of one family who helped found it. But that description makes the story sound pedestrian, like you’ve probably heard it before. No stopping power. But the novel is anything but pedestrian. It might be the most inventive and different novel I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a fair amount of fiction. The 400-page onslaught of magic and baroque detail throughout the story makes it truly distinct. Which is exactly what you want to do with your brand. Easier said than done!
This is trite. It’s long been said that a color palette, logo, and voice do not make a brand. What does? It’s a vibe, and hopefully that vibe feels unique. It’s easy to name a few brands with different and identifiable vibes, maybe Apple, Nike, Liquid Death. But the list is shorter than you’d think. It takes time and commitment and true creativity, plus long-term consistency, to create a brand that looks and sounds different. Try reading 100 Years of Solitude and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s different.
We tried with HydroFlask. We did a ton of work for HydroFlask back in the 2010s. You can see some examples here. (Many recognitions to dope art director Brad Dundas.) We launched a new brand vibe for them at the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, and it stood out because it looked different from everything else at the show. The colors, font choice, and voice felt different because the brands at OR often show off a lot of marketing sameness. The creative director from another major outdoor brand came by and said she was jealous. Did it reach Gabriel García Márquez level differentiation? Probably not. But we were pushing in that direction. If you want to win the Nobel for your clients, which means radically increasing sales, creative differentiation is the way to go.
This Super Bowl spot. We were lucky enough to produce a Super Bowl spot for the Kaiser Family Foundation. “By ignoring HIV, you’re essentially throwing young people into trash.” It’s a provocative thought, and it stood out even among Super Bowl spots. Again, we tried to push creative differentiation so people would pay attention rather than ignore.
The AI trap. Which brings me to AI. The current efficiencies you can gain from the tools are insane. Transformation that’s perhaps unlike we’ve ever seen. Create a 100 personalized emails or three blog posts or a website from scratch in minutes rather than days or weeks. Do a SWOT analysis on all your competitors before lunch. Complete a 60-second spot in an afternoon rather than months. It’s just crazy what you can do, and you definitely should be doing it. But what’s hard to do is really truly differentiate from your competitors. How do you get to Liquid Death or Gabriel García Márquez level work using AI? Is it possible? I think the answer is yes, but it takes time and commitment. You’ll get something better from AI after spending 30 minutes on a prompt rather than 30 seconds, as creators like PJ Pereira demonstrate.
Don’t rush. Creating something for a brand that stops people is more important than cranking out thousands of generic blog post words. But with AI, the later is so much easier to do than the former. Using creatively and high craft to create something that feels fresh may end up being even more critical than previously in the coming infinite sea of homogenized mediocre content. Want a push in the direction of creating something different? Read 100 Years of Solitude. You’ll also benefit from being consistent with your brand’s particular way of standing out. Brand Gravity+AI can help you do that by defining your difference, keeping you focused, and ensuring you’re AI-ready.
