Consistency is not, in fact, the hobgoblin of little minds

If you’re feeling the need to shake things up, maybe take a break and have a KitKat.

KitKat has been unrelentingly consistent with their Distinctive Brand Assets for a very long time.

By our count, KitKat has five DBAs — their logo, their unique red color (Breaktime red or Pantone 1788C), the iconic shape of the chocolate bar itself, their tagline and, at least in the US, an insanely fun and catchy jingle. That’s it.

The packaging has been that particular shade of red (or very close to it) since 1935. The logo has been around since 1937. “Have a break, Have a KitKat” has been their tagline since 1957. And “Gimme a Break” launched in 1986.

(Their tagline is also a category entry point, the only one they have.)

KitKat has been remarkably disciplined for a brand that’s nearly 100-years old.

That’s because KitKat has figured out who they are — an uncomplicated, fun snack that people enjoy on a break.

No matter the category, the challenge for brands is to be as instantly recognizable and grabbable as possible. To do that, brands need to stay consistent and invest consistently in their Distinctive Brand Assets.

But how do you know whether or not an asset is truly distinctive?

This tool was developed by Jenni Romaniuk, researcher and professor at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in Australia.

We’ve shown it to you before. Today, we’ll walk you through it.

Fame means people recognize a brand asset. 

Uniqueness means consumers associate the asset with a particular brand.

According to Romaniuk in her book “Building Distinctive Brand Assets,” DBAs are truly distinctive when they are both famous and unique.

Let’s start with the top left quadrant.

Avoid Solo Use — Here, buyers connect a brand asset to both you and your category competitors.

Brand colors are a good example of this, because it’s incredibly difficult to own a color. And it would be absolutely silly for KitKat to only feature their particular shade of red in an ad. Because KitKat's red is only famous when combined with their other Distinctive Brand Assets. Their shade of red is certainly not unique, even in context.

Ignore or Test — A DBA that scores low on both uniqueness and fame needs to be tested with audiences. If it scores very low, it may be better to simply drop it.

Invest Potential — These are brand assets that are unique but not terribly famous. Let’s say your KitKat had a character/mascot that hadn’t been used since the 1950s. Characters are wildly effective, so they might want to put some money behind it. Update it. Bring it back to life, and start using it in all their comms.

Use or lose — These Distinctive Brand Assets are truly distinctive, meaning that people overwhelmingly associate them with your brand. Use them everywhere. Use them often. Otherwise, people eventually will forget about them.

If KitKat changed their tagline, which they did for a hot minute back in 2004, people would eventually forget the old one. Would that be the end of KitKat? Of course not, but it’s a fantastic tagline and there’s absolutely no reason on Earth to change it.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Even if you really, really, really want to “fix” it.

Distinctive Brand Assets are the cues and codes customers use to find you. The more things change, the harder customers have to work. Customers don’t want to work. They want to solve their problem and get on with their day.

Also, people don’t get bored of brand assets. They don’t think about them enough to ever get bored. The only people who ever got tired of KitKat’s tagline was KitKat. So they changed it. To their credit, they promptly changed it back.

Even with consistent use, it takes a long time to build fame, even with the most unique assets.

KitKat has had the advantage of time.

Distinctiveness will happen, if you stay consistent.

So stay the course. And stay tuned. We’ll see you next week.

Sources!
“Building Distinctive Brand Assets” by Jenni Romaniuk

(Just FYI, we still have a few copies here in the SRH office. If you’d like one, give us a call.)

“Copy KitKat on your quest for Double D Marketing” – Mark Ritson, Marketing Week