I get asked all the time “When can I mention my competitor?”. It’s a slippery slope. We all know you want to yell “My competitor cheats, their stuff sucks and they charge you too much!”
It cracked me up watching the Bud light Super Bowl commercial that was set in a medieval Bud Light plant and the crew notices that Corn Syrup was delivered as one of the ingredients for the brewing process. They then declare it must be a wrong delivery because Bud Light doesn’t use Corn Syrup.
Frankly, I didn’t know Corn Syrup was bad for you or ruined a nice cold beer…but OK, I’ll keep watching. So, the crew decides it must have been a shipment meant for Miller Lite, so they load it up in the wagon and take it to the Miller Lite plant.
Miller Lite opens the gate and declares they received their barrels of Corn Syrup, so it must have been meant for Coors Light.
Kind of a fun way to point out a differentiation and it certainly works well in the light beer market, but not sure it would with a drug, stent or MRI machine. Nonetheless, it begs the question:
When is ok to mention your competitor by name?
I don’t have a comprehensive list of dos and don’ts for naming your competitor, but I think far too many great brands avoid boosting their overall product category in fear of it benefitting their competitor.
In the 80’s and 90’s there was a famous campaign by the main trade association for tire manufacturers that ran TV commercials and print ads showing that if you put a penny in your tread and it hit Lincoln’s head you need new tires!
This sold a ton of tires for all brands! What if Firestone would have released this campaign? Would it have benefitted Bridgestone? Goodrich? Hankook?
You bet it would have!
We need more of this in healthcare! Investment in important topics like:
- Infection prevention
- Good hand hygiene protocols
- Cyber security
- Patient safety
- Worker safety
The list can go on and on, but you get the picture. Maybe it’s high time we start branding the value we bring and why it is needed and the market will rise for all of us!
If you haven’t seen the Bud Light commercial it will give you a good laugh at the link
If you would like some ideas on how to brand your solution contact me here!