15 surprising distinctive brand assets
A selection of the most unique and/or famous brand assets, from furry mascots to trash cans.
Ahhh distinctive brand assets, the most important yet underrated tool in the brand builders’ tool kit. In this article, I want to go beyond the cliched examples and show you some truly unique and unexpected examples.
Let’s start with the basics
The idea of distinctive brand assets was invented by marketing scientist Jenni Romaniuk.
“A distinctive brand asset is a non-brand-name trigger for a brand name in category buyer memory (from WARC)”
To assess the ‘distinctiveness’ of assets, you score them on ‘uniqueness’ and ‘fame’.
Uniqueness: How easily it is recognized from the competition
Fame: How many people recognize the asset
Assets with high fame and high uniqueness are the most important assets. Distinctiveness is fundamental to build strong mental and physical availability, the main drivers of brand growth according to Byron Sharp’s How brands grow.
Given the clear proof that distinctiveness works, you would figure that most brands have this aspect locked in, but that’s not the case: research from Ipsos has shown that only 15% of assets are truly distinctive.
Why is that? There is probably not a single answer, but here are a few things I’ve seen:
A lot of brand designers are not aware of the theory and are overly focused on brand differentiation, ironically leading to less distinctive brands
A lot of marketers undervalue the importance of distinctiveness, rather than focusing on inconsistent advertising based on the latest trends and fads and rebranding every 2 years.
Overall, brands often feel the need to ‘re-invent’ themselves, case in point a lot of the recent car brand rebrands during the 'electrification’ wave.
Finally, we’ve seen a descent in the usage of popular traditional marketing devices like brand mascots, often they are perceived as ‘old-school’ while science has shown they are actually the most powerful assets together with sonic assets.
So its clear distinctiveness should be high on the agenda for marketers and designers, yet we see very few examples and discussions on it.
In most examples of distinctive brand assets (or DBA’), we often flex the most iconic and well-known brand assets (the famous ones). That makes sense as all people recognize them, but it’s very limiting in terms of inspiring marketers and brand designers to create new ones.
That’s why I wanted to showcase a wide variety of DBAs (or ‘fluent devices’ as Orlando Wood refers to them) that small and big brands are using to stand out in the marketplace. Obviously, some of these live in the ‘high uniqueness’ - ‘low fame’ quadrant, as they have the opportunity to become iconic, but yet need more time and reach to get there.
So buckle up, and Let’s talk branding!
1 — Swapfiets
Full circle marketing
We kick things off with Swapfiets, a Dutch bike-renting company. Their distinctive asset is a blue tire. That’s right. Very simple, yet highly recognizable and a smart play given their assets are driving around in cities all the time (a bit like Deliveroo’s drivers).
They also incorporated the blue circle in the logo.
One of my favorite parts is how they used the blue tire as a marketing asset, specifically in their partnership with Cycling team Jumbo Visma. The blue tire stands out for millions of viewers of the cycling sport.
2 — Sun bum
The coolest bum
Sunbum’s yellow gorilla with sunglasses is one of my favorite brand mascots, it’s iconic, unexpected for the category, and highly memorable.
Sun Bum’s mascot is called ‘Sonny’. Paired with a simple brand identity that features ‘beachy colors’, modern typography, and a custom wordmark with some fancy flourishes.
Sonny’s iconic yet simple look allows Sun Bum to use it in all kinds of applications, from real-life toys to OOH, and simply as a logo. Distinctive? Hell yeah! 🤙
3 — Scrubdaddy
Make me smile(y)
Scrubdaddy is a great example of a company that has distinctiveness built in from the get-go. From the super-recognizable and cute product shape to the logo to the hilarious, tongue-in-cheek marketing, it’s a case study in entertainment branding.
Learn more about Scrub Daddy’s marketing strategy in this article.
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4 — Duolingo
The mascot designed for social media
Usually, when talking about mascots, we see them appear in TV ads, not Duo though, Duolingo’s character is killing it on TikTok.
one that twerks on conference tables, slides down walls to Taylor Swift's "All Too Well," and says he's "thirsty" for Dua Lipa, whom he has also called "mommy." (full article on Business insider)
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Turns out, a mascot is the perfect brand asset to leverage on social media. It allows you to be ‘on brand’ yet jump on highly relevant tools without feeling too much like advertising. Those mascot suit makers better prepare for a revival.
5 — Yeti
The product is the hero
Spoiler alert: I’m a huge outdoor fan, so I might be biased, but I love how Yeti is putting its products front and center in recent ads. They’re products are thrown in rivers, from mountains, attacked by bears, etc. It’s a great way to tell a story with an inanimate object and it feels ‘right’ for the brand.
If you’re able to show your product while also telling an entertaining story, you’re on the right track.
6 — Vacation
Vibe as an asset
I’m not sure if it would qualify as a distinctive brand asset, but I think Vacation does a great job of using a ‘vibe’ as its main distinctive asset. In this case, 80’s Miami look.
Admittedly, it’s hard to ‘own’ a vibe and be recognized for it, but Vacation is certainly giving it its all. It requires both a lot of creativity and a huge amount of flexibility. If your idea is to go for a ‘vibe asset’, I would say this: pick a theme/era that gives you enough depth (like Liquid death to heavy metal).
7 — Colin & Samir: Thumbnails
Simple but effective type treatment
To show that it’s not all about fancy CG ads or mascots, I think YouTube educators Colin and Samir are doing a great job of standing out with their thumbnails, through a simple yet consistent trick: bold typography with a yellow highlight. It’s highly debatable if this is a truly unique and ownable asset, but when I’m scrolling through YouTube, it stands out for me.
8 — Omlet
3D claylike characters with cute type
Ragged Edge’s work for Omlet features a set of ‘claylike’ 3D characters that grace Omlet’s packaging, website, and advertising. Paired with a cute typeface, I think it has all the potential to stand out on the shelf and in the digital space.
9 — Alan
Cute fluffy creature in a B2B tech space
I’ve been working for Alan for a few years now, so obviously I’m very biased, but still, I think it’s an asset worth showing.
Alan’s cute furry creature stands out in the health insurance space, where competitors are very often big corporate banks and insurers.
Besides being a fluffy, cute creature in a mostly dry and corporate space, what is really cool is the fact that Alan is using Generative AI to create imagery for their ads and social media.
10 — Viral Video club
A simple, viral formula
Besides being a fun channel to learn about viral videos on TikTok, this channel also has a great, recognizable asset, the 'rip-off’ reveal. By showing a whiteboard with a few highlights that are revealed throughout the video, Yasin is able to ‘retain’ viewers.
Of course, it’s not highly ‘unique’ if other creators start doing it too, but if Yasin is able to build a lot of fame with it, it’s likely other creators will be associated with his style of content (similar to how Mr. Beast is often triggered with similar creator’s in the ‘Beastification’ of Youtube).
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12 — Veuve-Cliquot
Owning a color is not an easy feat, only a few brands can do it. Veuve Clicquot’s ‘solaire’ color is a great example of that.
Learn all about how brands like Veuve worked with David Taylor from Brandgym to measure their distinctive brand assets in this interview on my channel.
13 — Gawx
One of my favorite creators, Gawx, has a truly unique asset: his voice. The slightly quirky, adolescent voice with a Latin accent gives his videos a unique and memorable flavor.
14 — Haris Spahic
Haris Spahic has been killing it on LinkedIn. His message: create memorable, stand-out content to grow your (B2B) brand. Practicing what he preaches, he created a brand character called ‘Calvin Cooks’, a purple furry ball that is able to make his content stand out.
What’s interesting about this mascot is that Haris used Generative AI to create it, which means anyone today is able to create a unique character for their brand.
Learn how to create your own mascot in my latest tutorial.
15 — Bin Juice
Last but not least, John Lyons recently started his own content series called ‘Bin Juice’. He records weekly ramblings on marketing in front of a few … bins. John calls himself the original ‘Binfluencer’. It goes to show that sometimes even trashy ideas can make you stand out.
It’s clear that distinctive brand assets come in many forms and shapes. I think we should spend more time studying them, figuring out which ones work and why and even reward the best ones (Cannes, are you listening?).
I’m curious to hear what your favorite ones are!
Great read, thank you! My favorite is Vacation's 80s vibe check.
What about the chik fil a cows too!