Paths to Advantage no.4

Unique brand characteristics. Strong brands can build an identity in consumers’ minds that transcends products. Few people can think of, say, the Wall Street Journal and not get a sense of authority in business news. For innovation purposes, such a positioning can provide a springboard for new opportunities.
An example can be found in the soft drink category. The Coca-Cola Company’s primary asset is the formula of its flagship soda, and the company built on that taste when it developed and launched Coca-Cola Zero, a low-calorie product intended to taste more like regular Coke than Diet Coke. PepsiCo couldn’t mimic Coca-Cola Zero, naturally, because its consumers want a product that tastes like Pepsi. It took Pepsi two years to develop a new diet cola called Diet Pepsi Max that leveraged its own unique taste assets — much longer than it generally takes to bring out a traditional line extension.
Other characteristics that can provide unique advantage include a meaningful heritage, which gives a certain emotional heft to new products or services from, say, Singapore Airlines. Positioning itself as the quintessence of what Westerners think of as “Asian values,” the carrier has successfully emphasized its hospitality and high-tech amenities, including new airplanes and in-flight entertainment systems. And there’s value in being recognized as dominant in one area; ESPN has used its position as the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” to expand successfully into dining, with its ESPN Zone chain of theme restaurants.