When water is not just water: the branding of commodity products

I can’t tell Evian water from Henniez, Cristalp, or just about any tap waters out there. Even after years of partnership and sampling with our client Nestlé Waters. However it’s fascinating that a seemingly undifferentiated product like H2O can be perceived so differently from one consumer to the next.

So how exactly do you go about branding such undifferentiated, commodity products – be it water, wood, soap, sugar or bananas?

It is all about differentiation. And there are just as many ways to differentiate a commodity than there are bubbles in a glass of San Pellegrino.

Origin

Origin is probably the most notable proposition. The mere associations of that origin can carry enough weight to give the product value. This is what makes Canadian wood “safe and modern”, Swiss electricity “reliable and clean”, and allows Czech artist Kirill Rudenko to sell canned air from cities around the world for $10.

Re-naming

With enough time and resources, re-naming is also a strategy worth considering. Go back a few years ago and think the “Dove is not soap” advertising campaign. While Dove possesses its own attributes, it managed to build a distinct positioning for itself, not just from other soaps, but from the entire soap category. You no longer wash your face with soap, you wash it with Dove!

Packaging

Then there is packaging, a high-impact differentiator. Daddy, a French sugar brand recently introduced new biodegradable packaging derived from plant materials. Although the container costs more than what’s in it, the company hopes to appeal to a generation of conscious consumers and be recognized for that.

But what if there’s nothing different to bank on?

We recommend you make it up!

You drink Contrex to maintain – or achieve – a slim figure, while Perrier is the freshest water around and Badoit quenches the sophisticated. Or to my colleague, Evian is what helps you stay and feel young.

It all comes down to having a good creative communication campaign. Add a mascot or celebrity spokesperson to the mix and you’ve got the potential to turn the most undifferentiated commodity product into a relevant, durable, and unique brand. Ask us how we can give your product more value and how our team helped Chiquita sell more bananas.