How brands can stand out in crowded categories
Using a niche or a true differentiator to win.
In the latest Brand Sauce pod, I talk about how challenging it can be to take space within a crowded category, but how using a unique product difference, or creating one with distinct marketing, can help brands stand out to consumers.
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Episode transcript:
I've been doing marketing for a long time, and a lot of my earlier career was spent in the ad agency space as a strategist. When you're a strategist in an ad agency, one of the things you do a lot is write creative briefs. The creative brief is essentially a process where you work with the client and your internal creative team to determine what needs to be created, what it should accomplish for the brand, and how to craft a specific message that will be impactful to the target audience.
One of the core components of this process is identifying the target audience—the specific type of person who will have the greatest impact on business growth. I’ve written some pretty good creative briefs in my day, and I’ve written some bad ones. The bad ones often resulted from clients insisting that their target audience was "everyone." If you've worked in the agency space, you know that’s the worst possible answer. It provides no direction, making it difficult to craft effective messaging.
Successful marketing requires having a clear idea of a specific audience to help or motivate. If your audience is "everyone," you have no starting point. Trying to appeal to everyone often results in creating something unremarkable. To grow as a brand or creator, you need to be memorable and relevant. That’s difficult without either a clearly defined niche or a distinct feature that sets you apart. These elements help guide the development of campaigns and messaging.
Today, we’re going to discuss how to establish a presence within a category by either having a specific niche or making your brand distinct. We’ll explore how these two approaches complement each other in achieving the same goal.
Welcome to Brand Sauce!
We make strategic marketing simple—and a little spicy—so that companies and marketers of all sizes can focus on doing the right things, and doing them well, to grow their brand. I’m your host, Joe. With over 15 years of marketing experience in agencies, freelancing, and in-house roles, I’ve picked up a lot of useful strategies for effective marketing. I’ve also learned plenty about what doesn’t work. Let’s learn together!
Before we dive into today's topic, let’s open the mailbag. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at brandsaucepod@gmail.com.
Listener Question: The Restaurant Industry Struggle
Today’s message comes from someone in the restaurant industry. They write:
“I've been in the restaurant business for over seven years, serving a small market with locals and no tourism. We have a unique full-service, all-you-can-eat concept, but not a buffet. Over the last few months, our numbers have dropped significantly—by as much as 40% month over month—and I don't think we can last much longer. We’re running lots of social media promotions, but while we get engagement, we’re not getting bookings. What else can we do?
By the way, we recently had to change our name due to an international copyright issue, but that’s all we’ve changed. The concept and food remain the same, though some people say they preferred the old food. We ran a newspaper article explaining the name change, but I’m not sure what else to do.”
Response:
My heart goes out to this person because the restaurant industry is incredibly tough. It’s highly competitive, and economic shifts have made things even harder. Many people feel like they have less expendable income for indulgences like dining out. At the same time, rising labor and material costs have forced many restaurants to increase prices, creating a lose-lose situation.
The name change is likely at the core of the problem. Being in business for seven years builds recognition and customer loyalty. When you change the name, people often assume it means new ownership, a new experience, or a complete overhaul—even if nothing else has changed. This perception alone can cause customers to hesitate.
A single newspaper article is likely insufficient for addressing this issue. It takes significant effort to re-educate existing customers about what has changed and what hasn’t. My advice would be to aggressively reinforce the message that the restaurant remains the same in every way except for the name. This could involve running more promotions, leveraging direct mail, using local advertising, and encouraging word-of-mouth marketing.
The key is to saturate the market with messaging that emphasizes continuity: “Same great food, same great experience—just a new name!”
Brand Positioning: The Power of Distinction
At the beginning of the episode, I mentioned how frustrating it is when clients claim their target audience is "everyone." The reality is that consumers shop by category, not by brand loyalty. Most people don’t stick to one brand exclusively—they rotate between options based on promotions, availability, or prior experiences. This applies to many industries, from sneakers to frozen pizza.
If you’re trying to build a brand, you must stand out. You can achieve this through either product differentiation or strong branding and messaging. Without a meaningful difference, your brand risks blending into the background, making it harder for customers to remember and choose you.
For example, in the frozen pizza market, brands use distinct characteristics to carve out their niche:
Jack’s Pizza is inexpensive and accessible.
Lotzza Motzza emphasizes excessive cheese.
Screamin’ Sicilian offers bold branding with fun packaging.
Amy’s Pizza appeals to health-conscious consumers with organic ingredients.
None of these differences are groundbreaking, but they help each brand claim a portion of the market. The same principle applies to other categories, like sparkling water. Brands like Liquid Death, LaCroix, and Perrier differentiate themselves through design, messaging, and target audience alignment.
How to Apply This to Your Brand
If your product has a true differentiating feature, lean into it. However, if it doesn’t, then your branding, messaging, and marketing must create that difference. Think about your broader category, find a niche audience within it, and tailor your messaging accordingly.
For example:
Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, initially targeted kombucha drinkers before expanding to a broader audience by emphasizing its low sugar content.
Hoka and On Running started as niche performance running shoes but expanded their appeal through strategic messaging about comfort and support.
Liquid Death took a basic product—canned water—and built a brand that resonates with a niche audience by mimicking the aesthetics of energy drinks and beer.
The key takeaway? Successful brands are memorable. Whether through product innovation or clever marketing, they carve out space in the consumer’s mind. If you’re not truly different, create something in your branding that makes you stand out. Stick with it, and you’ll see results.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for joining me today on Brand Sauce! If you found this episode helpful, please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast wherever you listen. Your support helps a lot as I continue to build this show.
Have a question or feedback? Email me at brandsaucepod@gmail.com, leave a message at brandsauce.co, or reach out on social media at @brandsauceco.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll catch you next time!