How do brands know when it’s time to do a total 180?
Branding expert Adam Rix, head of branding and design agency NOT Wieden+Kennedy, argues that the real challenge isn’t whether to follow or break category codes, it’s knowing which ones to honour, which ones to hack, and which ones to torch.
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Ironically, I’d like to start by flipping my headline question on its head. We all bump into an estimated 10,000 brands a day. Some argue it’s less, some swear it’s more.
Out of those, we see about 362. We notice 153. Just 12 make an impression. And the ones we actually remember? A measly one to three. So, out of ten thousand brands, only one to three survive the day in your brain.
We all bump into an estimated 10,000 brands a day.
Which begs me to ask not why would you want to stand out, but how could you possibly not want to?
Above: Mozo burst onto the banking scene with a bold, new advertising approach.
Of course, it’s never that simple. Take banking; when Monzo burst onto the scene, they didn’t just stand out, they ripped up the rulebook. New tech, new attitude, a screaming-bright coral card and an app your dusty old high-street bank couldn’t dream of. They weren’t just selling banking, they were selling a new way to be a bank. Perfect for younger, early adopters who love shiny new things.
Starling, meanwhile, clocked a different audience. A slightly older, more cautious bunch who still weren’t sure if banking on a phone was safe. Similar powerful tech to Monzo, but wrapped in a brand that gently whispered “trust me”. A steady, all caps logo, a conservative navy blue with subtle modern accents played off the codes of the banking category. No loud card-waving from your wallet, just reassurance with a sheen of progress.
I know which brand I’d rather have created.
So who won? Again, it’s never that simple. Monzo has rocketed in users, but only just scraped into profitability – twice. Starling has fewer customers but steady, sustainable profits.
So, which strategy worked; smashing the category apart, or playing nice within it? Honestly? Both. But only one brand will be known for changing the face of banking. The one that led the charge. The one that got their first. And you’d have to bet that will serve them well over time. And I know which brand I’d rather have created.
Above: FC Como borrowed the codes of fashion advertising for it's campaign for the women's football team.
There are lots of reasons why other brands might want to follow category codes rather than reject them. Familiar codes are shortcuts, they signal belonging, values, aesthetics, movements, sectors – all in an instant. And then there’s ‘familiarity bias’, the psychological concept that us humans tend to prefer things that feel familiar versus things that are new.
But all of this comes with a huge risk of blending into the noise and, as we said at the start, there’s a lot of it. And, if your shortcut can’t be seen, it’s not a shortcut at all. But again, it’s never that simple. Borrowing codes from other categories can be a powerful tool in creating distinction within your own. Communion’s work for FC Como Women borrowed the codes of fashion to position the team as distinctive in the world of sport, as did Bureau Borsche’s work for Venezia FC.
When is the right time to buck the trends of your category?
Koto’s Disloyalty brand (aside from having an incredible name) borrows the codes of editorial design to stand out in a world of shiny corporate hotel chains. And you can kind of have your cake and eat it if you take some codes of your category but radically deviate from others.
So, when is the right time to buck the trends of your category? The answer is all of the time, to some degree. Whether you tear up the rule book, though, depends on whether you, your product, or your POV on the world does the same.
FC Como can do it because they’re a fiercely independent female football team, owned by a visionary female leader looking to change the face of women’s football. Venezia FC can do it because of where they’re from, the story of their city, and because they have Diego Moscosoni at the helm. Disloyalty can do it because they have a very targeted audience and a unique positioning around encouraging people to never stay at the same hotel twice. Monzo could do it because they had a pretty game-changing approach to banking.
Above: NOT W+K's work for RE:CHEMISTRY turned the sector's advertising - quite literally - upside down.
As for GFBiochemicals' for RE:CHEMISTRY, NOT Wieden+Kennedy could do it because we were working directly with an outspoken, visionary founder. As a business, they see the world differently. They use complicated science to create simple yet significant change and have the power to turn the products we all use every day on their heads. For that piece of work, we needed a visual identity that told their story and stood out in the chemistry and sustainability sectors. Those are – generally – worlds of cold, unapproachable design that lean into the process of the science much more than the exciting results it produces. Worlds of vaguely scientific names, macro photography, molecules and a sustainability-focused sea of green and blue colour palettes and plant iconography.
The real challenge isn’t whether to follow or break category codes, it’s knowing which ones to honour, which ones to hack, and which ones to torch.
We brought their power to change things to life with a simple, singular concept. A logo literally turned upside down, flipped product photography to represent reformulation, flipped images of nature to reflect the brand’s optimism that we can still make a difference, and a verbal identity that uses mirrored phrases, opposites and flipped typography to reinforce messaging. And then we made it all pink.
So, if you’re considering where to take your brand next, the real challenge isn’t whether to follow or break category codes, it’s knowing which ones to honour, which ones to hack, and which ones to torch. If your product or purpose already rewrites the rules, your brand should too. If not, your job is to find the one lever you can flip to create distinction without losing trust.
So, before you brief your next rebrand, ask yourself; are we here to reassure, or are we here to revolutionise? The brands that endure are rarely the ones that play it safe. They’re the ones brave enough to decide, commit and make damn sure the world remembers them.
