Today, differentiation isn't a new problem. It's the age-old problem. As marketers, we all know we need to be able to differentiate our brand and our business. This shouldn't be our primary focus. It should be our only focus. It's not a national or European market. We're all competing on a global playing field. No longer is it good enough to have a shiny new widget. Today, every product and service is becoming commoditised in this global market. Therefore, we can't compete on price or functionality. We need to compete in a different way. One, that just can't be copied. The most valuable point of differentiation and its greatest prize is creativity. This is because it can't be bottled or replicated. You can't make somebody creative. Telling an old story in an original way is always going to be rewarding. But creating an entirely new story is the gold standard of ideas. So crafting your story has just never been so important. Our gut instinct has marked it. So go with what is working. Because everything in the corporate award system is geared towards that. The lack of risk appetite, the quest for short-term results, even performance incentives. The irony for brands is the more you embrace the ideas that works for others, the less likely those ideas are going to work for you. The problem is, most organisations don't dare to be different. They're just too focused on being the same. Is differentiation still possible these days? Well, we think so. But it's moved from big picture, broad brush, disruptive marketplace to an era of more individual, personalised, specific small plays. Brand differentiation today is about what it does for me, not what it does for a whole entire sector. Instead, the new currency of marketing differentiation is about the whole experience and the memories you left with. So don't forget, don't be afraid of being different. Be really afraid of being the same.