Being Conventional Will K*ll You

Hey there, 

Welcome back to the 26th edition of Brandish, 

Your guide to crafting an iconic brand.

This week, I want to get a little bit personal…

But not too personal. 

We aren’t there yet. 

I’m going to be going deep on something that changed everything for us at Obvi - 

The design of our very first product. 

This will be important to you for two reasons:

1. People are superficial. No matter how great your product may be, if it doesn’t stand out in a way they like - no sales for you. 

2. When you’re competing against brands with a LOT more resources, you need to get a little unconventional.

Ready to get this show on the road?

Get comfy,

Grab your Brez,

And let’s get started.

Where’s Waldo, Except Everyone Looks Like Waldo

There’s nothing like the pressure that comes with figuring out the design for your first product,

Especially in a market as competitive as Health & Wellness. 

We knew that playing it safe was our ticket to going broke, 

but how the f*ck can you stand out in an industry where everyone looks the same?

And a question I couldn’t shake that haunted my dreams -

Why wasn’t anyone doing anything different? 

Was there some unspoken rule I wasn’t aware of?

My sleep schedule was already in the drain, but this kept me up at night. 

We had to do something different. 

Going Against The Grain

I decided that if we wanted to make it to next year, we had to do everything differently. 

Starting with our design. 

I didn’t want any part of our product to look like the endless shelves of generic supplements you find at the store. 

So I made the colors as vibrant as I could,

I made the graphics command attention, 

And our logo POP.

Ron & Ash weren’t really fans at first. 

But that’s understandable. 

When you looked at all our competitors (who were all doing the same thing) going against the grain seemed like a one-way ticket to our parents' basement. 

But branding was my specialty. 

I told them, 

“Look, you gotta trust me on this. It’s going to WORK.”

They weren’t totally convinced, 

But they did trust that I knew what I was doing. 

So against our better judgment - we ran with it.

Our design was finalized and sent to production.

Now all I could do was pray that this would work. 

Cha-Ching!

It worked.

It did more than just work. 

It CRUSHED. 

Our customers absolutely loved it. 

It helped create the brand identity that we leaned everything into going forward. 

We dropped a bomb into the bland (kinda sad) market of supplements and health, 

And we made it exciting and FUN. 

We were already pretty confident,  but this only solidified our belief that we had truly made something special. 

But What Does This Mean For You?

The purpose of this story wasn’t to tell you to make your product look different than everyone else.

Making your brand truly stand out takes a combination of several things: 

Like raw authenticity, 

Full trust in yourself and your team, 

And the b*lls to do something different. 

Lean hard into your personality. 

What makes YOU stand out? 

How can you take the one-of-a-kind story that’s your life and push that energy into your brand?

We’re getting a little introspective here, but I mean it. 

What makes you different is what makes your brand different. It’s an extension of who you are, so you better treat it like one. 

And That's A Wrap

Anyway, that’s all I have for you today. 

Did you learn something new, maybe even get a little inspired?

I’d hope so. 

See you next week, 

Ankit