Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

40 BRAND RELEVANCE
champions of the new offering, may not be meaningful enough
to customers to create a new category or subcategory. It is not
just logic that is involved, because even with a compelling story
around the new offering, customers must be motivated to pay
attention and change behavior. What is the problem for which
this is a solution? The “ problem ” may not be obvious.
Even if the benefi ts are worthwhile, the communication
task might be too diffi cult to overcome. An indicator of success
is often whether or not the new category or subcategory gets
enough interest and energy that it self - propels, that there is a
buzz that drives and supports the emerging loyal customer base
and makes them part of the creation force. Without that energy
it can be diffi cult. How, then, does a fi rm, aspiring to change
what customers buy, proceed?
Most successful efforts at creating new categories or subcategories
in one way or the other have addressed four interrelated
tasks or steps. As summarized in Figure 1.6 , they are:
1. Concept generation . Good options are needed and are more
likely if they are generated from multiple perspectives. It
is better to make inferior choices from great options than
to make great choices from inferior options. Like a football
Figure 1.6 Creating Offerings That Will Drive New
Categories or Subcategories
Concept Generation
Creating New Categories/Subcategories
Making Competitors Irrelevant
Concept Evaluation
Defining and Managing the
Category or Subcategory
Creating Barriers
to Competition