But you're not saying anything

Cory points us to this collection of logos from Saul Bass. Twelve giant companies, all with basically interchangeable logos.

And that's the point. These big companies didn't want the logo to be part of their story, they just wanted it to fit in with all the other big company logos. The only thing the logo said was, "we're a big company with a big company logo."

The same thing goes on with pricing. If you price your products like the competition does, you're not saying anything with your pricing. "Move along, there's nothing to see here." Which is fine. It just means you need to tell a story with something else.

Marketing storytelling is not about doing everything differently. You do many things the same, intentionally, because those 'same things' aren't part of your story. It's the different stuff where you will be noticed, and the different stuff where you tell your story.

The layout of this blog is intentionally bland. The books I write intentionally have standard covers and paper and are sold in standard stores at standard prices (most of the time, anyway). That's because the distribution and pricing isn't part of what I'm trying to say.

If you're not telling a story with some aspect of your marketing choices, then make sure that aspect is exactly what people expect. To do otherwise is to create random noise, not to further your marketing.