Growth Newsletter #090

David Perell recently asked a question: “What’s causing all these logos to look the same?”

Within a day, his post had gotten 20 million impressions.

His question points to a wider trend: Brands are getting more homogenous in their design, UX, and messaging. Creativity is losing out to CRO—and consumers are getting bored.

Reminder: Consumers like being surprised and delighted. Otherwise, TikTok wouldn’t exist.

To prevent brand burnout—that’s consumer fatigue caused by brand uniformity—differentiate your brand. Consider using an “onlyness statement” to do that. What is it that only your brand is doing?

Follow this structure: “Our brand is the ONLY ___________ [your business category] that __________ [your differentiator].”

For example, “Trader Joe’s is the only grocery store that makes shopping unique and fun.”

Then flesh it out:

• What: The only [your category]
• How: that [your differentiator]
• Who: for [your customers]
• Where: in [your market geography]
• Why: who [your customers’ need state]
• When: during [the underlying trend]

Another example:

• What: The only motorcycle manufacturer
• How: that makes big, loud bikes
• Who: for macho guys (and macho wannabees)
• Where: mostly in the US
• Why: who want to join a gang of cowboys
• When: in an era of decreasing personal freedom

You can see how that encapsulates Harley-Davidson’s slogan: “American by birth. Rebel by choice.”

Creative teams often rely on instinct and assumptions alone to answer customers’ “whys”:

• Why they should click on your ad
• Why they should be excited about your brand or product
• Why they should buy

Until you understand which “whys” truly resonate, your campaigns will never reach their full potential.

If you run social ads, try a simple four-step exercise to uncover high-impact creative concepts.

1. Write down 25 reasons why someone should buy your product. We'll use a hypothetical example of deodorant from an eco-friendly DTC brand.

2. Look at the product's reviews, and make a list of all the benefits people talk about. If someone says:

• "It's long-lasting"—put a tally mark
• "It's natural"—put a tally mark
• "It smells great"—put a tally mark
• "It's long-lasting"—put a second tally mark

3. Sort benefits from most to least tallies.

4. Match the top 10 benefits with your list of "whys."

Now you have a messaging matrix for 10 ad angles—using your customers' words. Every angle on the list should have:

• A clear why
• A clear problem it's illustrating
• And the benefit it provides

Test these angles in your campaigns to see what resonates, then iterate on top performers.

Get this: Simply using negations (words like “no,” “don’t,” “never”) can increase your engagement and word of mouth.

In a study of more than 15,000 tweets and Facebook posts, more people viewed, engaged with, and acted on posts that had negation words.

Consider testing them in your copy.

A few examples of how to frame your content using negations:

• Tell users what not to do. “Don’t settle for XYZ.”
• Explain what your product helps avoid or reduce. “Never worry about [problem] again.”
• Create a sense of impossibility. “You can’t find a better deal anywhere else.”

Why do negations generate more engagement?

Research suggests that since these words seem powerful and assertive, they signal higher social status. So consumers who desire status tend to engage more.

Given these findings, negations might have a stronger impact on luxury brands or other businesses that sell status-signaling products.