How do I get my brand noticed?

To get your brand noticed, you need to give people a clear reason to choose and remember it. That reason could be your positioning, personality, message, visual identity, customer experience, or one distinctive detail—but it must matter to the customers you want to attract.

Many businesses try to stand out by claiming they are better:

• Better quality
• Better service
• Better results
• More professional
• More reliable
• More experienced

The problem is that competitors are probably saying the same things.

Seth Godin’s work is often summarized with the idea that different is better than better. Being “better” can be difficult for customers to judge, especially before buying. A meaningful difference is easier to notice, understand, and remember.

But differentiation does not mean being strange simply to attract attention. It means finding a relevant way to break the familiar pattern in your industry.

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1. Positioning: Focus on a benefit competitors ignore

Positioning defines who your business serves, what problem it solves, and what you want to be known for.

Instead of offering “accounting services for small businesses,” a firm might specialize in helping restaurant owners manage food costs and seasonal cash flow.

The service may not be new, but its relevance to a particular customer is much clearer.

Ask yourself:

• Which customers do we understand especially well?
• What do they value that competitors overlook?
• What specific problem can we become known for solving?
• What are we willing not to offer?

Trying to appeal to everyone usually produces a general message that feels especially relevant to no one.

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2. Personality: Use a tone people do not expect

Most industries develop a familiar personality. Banks sound formal, healthcare companies sound careful, and educational brands sound helpful.

A different—but appropriate—personality can make your brand easier to recognize.

Duolingo made language learning feel playful through humor, characters, and a distinctive online voice. Its personality supports its goal of making learning feel engaging rather than intimidating.

Your personality must still fit your audience. You do not need to be loud or funny to stand out. A technical company could be unusually warm, while a confusing industry could use a refreshingly direct voice.

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3. Visual identity: Break the category pattern

Look at the colors, typography, imagery, packaging, and layouts used by your competitors.

Liquid Death broke away from the peaceful mountains and wellness language commonly associated with bottled water. Its tall cans, bold typography, and “Murder Your Thirst” message make it look closer to a beer or energy drink.

A distinctive identity should not be different at random. It should communicate the right feeling and support your positioning.

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4. Message: Challenge a common belief

Most brands repeat what customers already expect to hear. A stronger message can offer a different way of seeing the problem.

Oatly’s “Post-Milk Generation” messaging helped position oat milk as part of a cultural shift rather than simply another beverage choice.

To find your message, ask:

• What does our industry assume is true?
• What advice does everyone repeat?
• What have we learned that challenges that advice?
• What do we believe customers deserve?

A challenging message should be supported by experience or evidence. Otherwise, it can feel like empty controversy.

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5. Radical honesty: Admit a limitation

Most marketing hides weaknesses. Acknowledging an obvious limitation can make a claim more believable.

Buckley’s cough syrup turned its unpleasant taste into a memorable message: “It tastes awful. And it works.”

Radical honesty could mean:

• Saying who your service is not for
• Explaining what your product cannot do
• Acknowledging a tradeoff
• Being transparent about pricing
• Recommending a less expensive option when it is enough

Honesty builds trust when it is genuine—not when it is a disguised sales tactic.

6. Surprising comparison: Make your offer easier to understand

An unexpected but familiar comparison can make a complex offer feel more concrete.

Calling a financial planning service “a personal trainer for your finances” creates a familiar picture of guidance, accountability, and steady progress.

The comparison should make your offer easier to understand. If it requires a long explanation, it is probably creating more confusion.

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7. New use: Show a different way to use the product

Sometimes the difference is not the product itself, but how people are encouraged to use it.

A food normally marketed as a specialist health product could be positioned as an easy sandwich topping. A product associated with one season could be presented for another occasion.

A new use can attract a different audience without requiring an entirely new product.

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8. Unfamiliar context: Change the setting

Advertising often places products in predictable environments. Cars appear on empty roads. Luxury products appear in polished spaces. Outdoor products appear in the wilderness.

Placing something familiar in an unfamiliar context can make people look again.

The setting should do more than surprise people. It should reveal something useful about the product, customer, or brand.

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9. Different format: Present familiar information in a new way

The information does not always need to be new. Its presentation can be.

You could turn:

• Research into an interactive quiz
• Instructions into a comic
• Customer data into a personal story
• A case study into a short documentary
• Frequently asked questions into a decision tool

Spotify Wrapped turns ordinary listening data into a colorful, personalized story people want to share. The data already existed; the format made it interesting.

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10. Unlikely collaboration: Create an unexpected connection

Partner with a person or brand from a different category that shares your audience, values, or cultural relevance.

CeraVe’s collaboration with Michael Cera used the similarity between his name and the brand to create speculation about whether he had developed the product. The humorous idea eventually reinforced the real message: CeraVe is developed with dermatologists.

The best collaborations are surprising at first but make sense once people understand the connection.

11. Better customer experience: Improve the frustrating part

You do not always need a bold campaign to get noticed. Sometimes the best difference is fixing something customers normally expect to be difficult.

A service business might:

• Make estimates easier to understand
• Remove unnecessary forms
• Explain what happens next
• Send updates before customers have to ask
• Simplify onboarding
• Create a thoughtful final handoff

The experience is part of the product, especially in a service business.

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12. Memorable detail: Create one recognizable feature

People may not remember every part of an experience, but they often remember one distinctive detail.

Tiffany & Co. made its blue box an instantly recognizable part of the brand. The packaging became almost as memorable as the product inside.

A small business could create a memorable detail through its packaging, welcome gift, illustrations, handwritten notes, presentation materials, or the way completed work is delivered.

It does not need to be expensive. It needs to be relevant, consistent, and easy to recognize.

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13. Customer participation: Let people contribute

People pay more attention when they can participate instead of simply watching.

LEGO Ideas allows fans to submit concepts and vote for their favorites. Selected ideas can eventually become official LEGO products.

You could invite customers to:

• Vote
• Customize
• Test
• Share ideas
• Submit content
• Help choose a new product
• See behind the scenes

Participation should be genuinely interesting to the customer—not unpaid work disguised as engagement.

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14. Surprising timing: Speak when competitors are quiet

Most businesses communicate around the same holidays, buying seasons, and industry events.

You can create an opening by contacting customers earlier, supporting them after the transaction, or connecting your offer to a less obvious occasion.

A helpful message delivered at the right moment can stand out more than an expensive campaign delivered when everyone else is competing for attention.

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15. Fresh perspective: Change who tells the story

Most brand stories are told from the company’s point of view.

Try telling a story through the eyes of:

• A customer
• An employee
• A product
• An ingredient
• A delivery
• A problem
• A first-time user

A fresh perspective can make familiar information more interesting, but it should still reveal something meaningful about the brand.

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16. Pattern interruption: Set up one expectation, then reveal another

Pattern interruption leads people to expect one thing before revealing something different.

The “It’s a Tide Ad” Super Bowl campaign began with scenes that looked like typical commercials for cars, beer, insurance, and other products. David Harbour then revealed that they were Tide ads because everyone’s clothing was perfectly clean.

The surprise connected directly to the product benefit. After the reveal, viewers began noticing clean clothing in other commercials and wondering whether those were Tide ads too.

That is the difference between useful pattern interruption and empty shock. The surprise should make your brand easier to understand or remember.

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Final Thoughts

Getting your brand noticed is not about making more noise. It is about giving the right people something clear and relevant to notice.

Look at what your category normally does. Find the sameness. Then choose one meaningful way to break the pattern.

You might focus on a customer others overlook, improve an annoying experience, develop a recognizable personality, challenge an accepted belief, or create one detail people cannot forget.

Whatever you choose, make sure it is:

• Relevant to your customer
• True to your business
• Easy to understand
• Difficult to confuse with competitors
• Supported by proof
• Consistently delivered

You do not need to be different in every possible way. You need to be meaningfully different in a way your customers can recognize, value, and remember.

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