Different, but still overlooked
#Branding
Last time, we talked about differentiation—the key to making the right people choose you over your competitors.
To recap:
✔️ It’s not about being better than them—it’s about being different in a way that matters.
✔️ It’s how you solve your ideal customers’ problems in a way the others in the market don't and can’t.
✔️ It frees you from competing on price or features because you offer unique value to those who really need it.
But differentiation only works if people see it, feel it, and understand it.
And that’s where creative direction comes in.
The crucial link between strategy and execution
The power of creative direction lies in bridging strategy and execution.
That's why Audi doesn’t just sell cars—they sell excellence, attitude, and a futuristic urban lifestyle.
That's why Dolce & Gabbana doesn’t just sell fashion or beauty products—they sell Italian and Sicilian heritage, baroque opulence, and unapologetic glamour.
None of that happens by accident. It’s the result of brand positioning, translated with intention and creativity across every detail so that everything works together to express their differentiation clearly and consistently.
How to apply creative direction to your brand
Once you define what your differentiation (or call it positioning if you prefer it that way) strategy is, bring it to life through creative direction.
Here are the key insights that will help you make it happen:
1. Define the core feeling your brand should evoke
Positioning = The way you want to be perceived in the market, shaped by your differentiation.
To craft a truly unique brand, start by defining that perception. You can use a mix of market research, customer interviews, competitor analysis, and your own insights to pinpoint this.
Ask yourselves: "What should people feel when they experience our brand so that our positioning and differentiation come through clearly?"
Confidence? Excitement? Desire? Peacefulness? Fun? Warmth? Nostalgia? A sense of exclusivity?
At Making You Smile, we often use Brand Archetypes to ensure our creative work evokes the right emotions and feelings. Check out our blog article on this game-changing method on our website.
2. Ensure consistency across every touchpoint
Your messaging, tone of voice, logo, colors, and even how you literally “talk to” customers should consistently reflect your brand’s unique differentiation and create the right perception.
The same applies to your website, newsletter, Linkedin content, Instagram Reels, YouTube videos, and printed marketing materials—everything is meant to feel like it comes from the same world.
If something feels “off,” it might be working against your differentiation.
This is why, at Making You Smile, my role as Creative Director is to brief, guide, and challenge our creative team to help them come up with compelling words, visual elements, or UX that are ALL impeccably aligned with the brand’s positioning.
3. Make creative decisions based on strategy, not taste
Creative decisions shouldn’t be based on “I like it” or “I don’t like it.” They should be based on: Does this express our positioning? Does it reinforce our differentiation?
If not, it’s just noise.
Unfortunately, many agencies focus only on following trends, making things look good, or simply pleasing their clients by relying too much on 'I like/dislike it' feedback. Agencies that take this approach fail to help clients differentiate or express their uniqueness through effective creative direction. The result? Their clients end up blending in with competitors, using random branding and marketing tools. And those clients are left wondering why their marketing and sales efforts aren’t delivering the outcomes they want.
Do not skip that fundamental phase—clearly define why your target customers should choose you over competitors and how to communicate it to create the right perception and evoke the right emotions.
This isn’t just key to effective and consistent execution—it will also save you and your team time, energy, and sanity when making brand decisions.
Here's a quick example of a client case we worked on. You can see a few screenshots of what our client’s website looked like before and how it transformed after we reimagined it.
In summer 2023, during France’s notoriously slow vacation season—when most companies struggle to move projects forward—we helped Agorize☝ revamp key website pages. In just a few weeks, we integrated their unique strengths, energy, and brand spirit into messaging and UX—launching the new web pages by September. The secret to nailing copy, web design, and SEO/SEA so speedily? A clear positioning strategy and creative direction—core to our process!
Now, make it happen
I hope this email has empowered you to differentiate your business and bring it to life through creative direction. Let me know if you have any questions. I’m just an email away.
Already tried, but your brand’s creative execution falls flat or feels inconsistent? It might be missing ‘true’ creative direction. Hit reply—let’s fix that together. ;)
PS. It’s no coincidence that I’m talking about Dolce & Gabbana as a powerful example of brand excellence above. Last week, I visited the ‘Du Cœur à la Main – Dolce & Gabbana’ exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. What a spectacular, theatrical, state-of-the-art showcase they’ve created! I had walked in fairly excited, but I left completely blown away.
