In the world of marketing and branding, sticking out like a sore thumb isn’t necessarily bad, advises brand innovation specialist Chandran Dharmarajan, a co-founder of I-morph, a marketing innovation consultancy based in Singapore. Dharmarajan, who has worked for more than a decade with Unilever in India and Thailand, followed by a stint with Kraft Foods Asia Pacific, was speaking at a recent seminar, “Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable,” organized by the UOB-SMU Entrepreneurship Alliance Centre of the Singapore Management University.

The seminar also featured guest speakers Ting Choon Meng, chairman and CEO of HealthSTATS International and president of the Fellowship of Inventors, and Donald Dalderup, managing director and innovation catalyst of the New Business Development Academy (NBDA).

“If there’s any way a product could stand out in a sea of similar products, it’s through differentiation,” says Dharmarajan. Many companies, such as Proctor & Gamble, have stayed ahead of the game over the years because of their differentiation strategies. Dell, for example, was the first computer manufacturer to differentiate itself by allowing customers the flexibility to configure their own computers, a win-win situation for both parties. There are many ways by which to differentiate a product or service—branding and advertising, packaging design, distribution channels, and retail outlets.

 …