Coca-Cola is “in the business of selling smiles”, not flavoured pop. If you open a Coke you Open Happiness! A big claim for a soft drinks brand, they invest a lot in conjuring up unique and elaborate ways to spread happiness (and free Coke) all over the world.

Coca-Cola has shown us that owning a territory around your brand can help elevate it above other products in the same sector. Happiness isn’t ‘thirst quenching’ or a great taste, it’s a state of mind. Similarly Cadbury are on their personal mission to own Joy. This strive for unique brand association remains one of the key challenges in marketing today.

In his book Decoded: The science behind why we buy, Phil Barden stresses how the value proposition must fit the brand. For example, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo all come with an automatic breaking system. The explicit goal for each car is shorter breaking distance, however the implicit goal is very different. Mercedes refer to the superiority of the system, BMW highlight how it can enhance your driving pleasure and Volvo promote it as a safety feature. Communications for each brand will reflect these different owned territories.

More than ever brands need to analyse the motivational drivers of their category and audience and seek to find autonomy in crowded markets.

Read on for examples…