September 9, 2022

Brand positioning can be a tricky thing to nail down. 

It expands and contracts as your organization matures, the market grows, and new threats emerge. It’s complicated--doing the work to tell an inclusive, compelling story. That's also the fun of it. 

I’m in the middle of a brand audit, working with an organization to evolve its market position as its purpose adapts to meet the needs of a more complex customer. 

I’m in the interview phase, talking to internal stakeholders and asking a lot of questions like:

• How do you help?
• What does your audience care about?
• If you disappeared tomorrow, would anyone notice?

I’ve been asking questions like these to brands like this for a long time. Sometimes, the lightbulb moment happens quickly, and everyone gets what we’re cooking. Other times, answers drop with a thud into one of these buckets.

The literal.

“We sell blue widgets to people looking for blue widgets.”

The boring.

“Do you know [competitor]? We do that too.”

The Elon.

“WE’RE REVOLUTIONIZING SPACE!!”   

Unhelpful responses mean we’re going to have “the talk.” 

Your brand positioning isn’t the thing you do. 

Your brand positioning is how you’re different. 

[That would make a great coffee mug. The holidays are coming.]

*  *  *  *

Are you familiar with DoorDash and Instacart, or do you not live in 2022? 

DoorDash and Instacart are home delivery services. They sell blue widgets to people who want blue widgets and want to stay in their pajamas. 

They arguably offer similar flavors of the same dessert to the same people. 

That’s why when they released new marketing campaigns leaning into vastly different positioning four days apart, I couldn’t help but devour them.

I saw the new DoorDash brand campaign first.        

*  *  *  *      

DoorDash’s new marketing campaign comes with the tagline, “A Neighborhood of Good." 

A series of :15 spots introduce us to some lovely characters. 

• We see Drew riding his bike to deliver a bouquet. 
• We meet Janet, bagging up a heartbreak kit for someone in need. 
• We join Kat as she delivers sustenance in her hatchback.

DoorDash's brand position has nothing to do with food delivery.   

DoorDash’s positioning is that they are a technology company offering last-mile logistics to strengthen local communities. The story they tell is one of economic impact. 

Each spot shows the positive ripples that occur in the community every time an order is placed through the DoorDash app. Whether you’re the end customer, the Dasher (the person who delivers an order), or the merchant, you’re a vital part of your local ecosystem.

You fill a role, not just a craving. 

To build upon its positioning with something tangible, DoorDash launched its Economic Impact Report concurrently with the spots providing measurable data on how DoorDash benefits the three sides of the marketplace to accelerate local communities. Brava!

Kudos to DoorDash for finding a creative yet simple way to highlight its three audiences in a single campaign to bring its purpose to life. 

Double kudos for rebranding my guilty pleasure of weeknight DoorDashing as community kindness. I promise to continue to do my part. 😅 

*  *  *  *

So, let’s look at Instacart's latest campaign.

Grocery shopping is the worst, right? Nothing is more painful than wandering the same aisles to buy the same things repeatedly until you die.

But now we have Instacart, and they are on a mission to change that. 

Instacart released its “The World Is Your Cart” campaign to launch a new in-app shopping experience called Carts. The added feature helps consumers discover new-to-them products via hand-picked, curated grocery lists based on topics (like Self Care Sunday and Late Night Noms) or influencers (see below)–bridging the gap between inspiration and reality.

Instacart bridged its own gap between inspiration and reality by casting Grammy Award-winning badass Lizzo to star in a one-minute spot. The fun starts with our superstar in an everyday setting (her bathtub) before launching us into a hyper-real, fantastical world where things appear simply by you thinking about them.

Check it out.

The whole thing feels more like a film than a commercial. And that's the point.

We start with Lizzo in her bathtub before everything morphs into a cinematic dream.

• She adds cherries to her digital cart, only to have them suddenly rain down from the heavens around her.
• A school bus-sized spoonful of cherry ice cream appears to satisfy her next craving.
• Adding a baguette to her cart transports her to France, where she meets a cute boy.
• Bath bombs burst like fireworks.
• She adds a bouquet, and the flowers appear all around her and cover her hair.   

Oh, and while all this is happening, we're treated to a remix of a song from Lizzo’s new album. Because, of course.

Instacart’s brand position is around inspiration, discovery, and the sensory act of shopping.  It’s about your needs, your wants, delivered to you.

Through this ad, Instacart brings that position to life. It feels magical, unleashing a full-on, visually-rich experience.

I mean, look at how beautiful this campaign is: 

Instacart has intentionally moved away from a transactional model and toward a consumer’s ability to discover new products that arrive at your door in as fast as an hour. 

In Lizzo's world, anything can happen at any time. The world is your cart and a place of infinite discovery. 

*  *  *  *

So, you're the consumer, and you've seen both campaigns. Which home delivery service does a better job aligning with your wants and needs, and desires? 

The two brands taking such different positioning forces you to choose. 

Your brand is more than a commodity. You're the accelerant to someone accomplishing a task. 

What's the lesson?

• What you do is cool. What you do that others don’t is cooler.

Brand positioning isn’t about pinpointing the competitors most similar to you. Brand positioning is about differentiating yourself from those competitors to earn you a place in your customers’ minds.

• Are you about self-discovery and opening up a world of new possibilities?
• Or are you more concerned with supporting your local community and those who live there?

Adopting the right brand position that aligns with your customers’ values forces them to choose you over a competitor who might sound similar on paper. 

• Your difference unlocks creative opportunities.

DoorDash and Instacart wouldn’t have pulled off each other’s campaign because it wouldn’t have felt authentic to who they are. Putting a stake in the ground and being firm about who you ARE and who you ARE NOT elevates your brand and makes you worthy of being remembered. Your customer shouldn't need to see your logo to know who's talking to them. Make it so that they recognize your brand in the dark.

Thanks for reading.  I'll be back in two weeks.

*  *  *  *

Coming Soon: The Overit SEO Brief

I'm very excited to announce that Overit is gearing up to release a brand new content series dedicated to all things search. It's called Overit SEO Brief and is specifically designed to help SMBs and marketing directors understand how to leverage SEO best while keeping you up-to-date on the latest trends, algorithm updates, and more.

It will be hosted by Senior SEO Strategist Dan O'Leary. If you've ever worked with Dan, you know his knowledge on this subject is unmatched. I can't wait for you to see what he's been working on.

💌 Thanks for subscribing to Into & Overit.

If you enjoyed this letter, please consider sharing it using the links below. I appreciate every bit of support.