Reverse CamouflageDo you have the courage to say what you stand against?

To declare what you are not and who probably isn’t a good fit for your company?

Most business owners don’t want to draw that sharp line of distinction, and it’s why their marketing efforts blend into the clutter.

Discernible edges and silhouettes allow us to visually identify an object, separating its figure from the background “noise.”

Eliminate the edges, break up the silhouette, and you’ll effectively camouflage yourself.

It works the same in advertising.

Our minds also depend on edges and silhouettes — on distinctions, limitations, and opposites.

This is why grabbing after an “infinite” market and seeking to be all things to all people ends up camouflaging one’s brand and message; without contrast it all just blurs into the background.

The good news is that this makes it easy to stand out — if you’ve got the guts.

Just sharply define the edges between you and the alternatives.

Not only with content, but with style as well.

If everyone else is doing a “yell and sell,” talk intimately with the audience.

If heartfelt monologues become the norm, try zippy dialogue and banter.

Zig when they zag in terms of style.

And in terms of content, draw that bright, vorpal edge between what you stand for and what you stand against.

The better you do this, the more strongly you’ll turn-off some customers.

But wouldn’t you rather powerfully persuade some of your market than be overlooked by all of it?

So what’s the catch?

You can’t oppose mustache-twirling, black hat villains and hope that that’ll get you anywhere.

Standing against straw-man scoundrels won’t sell an audience on your identity.

You have to stand against an actual possible alternative. Preferably one the audience has some lived experience with.

And you’ve gotta be willing to admit the downsides to your claims.

Think opposites.

You can’t be the no-corners cut, highest standards guy who’s vehemently against cost-cutting, almost as good compromises AND be the low priced leader.

Nobody will buy that because it’s not how our mind (or the universe) works.

Up is not down. Black is not white. In fact our very notion of up is based on its opposition to down.

If you’re the almost-as-good-at-half-the-price guy, you’ll have to admit where you don’t quite measure up to your twice-the-price competitors.

The more honestly you do that, the more we’ll believe where you DO measure up.

Or if you do fully measure up, you’ll have to tell us where else you’re making that sacrifice to maintain such a low price.

The edge has to be drawn somewhere.

A Bold Example of Reverse Camouflage In Action

I found this ad in my local newspaper and was immediately struck by the bold headline:

“You don’t want me to be your family doctor.”

Pretty ballsy headline, huh?

I was compelled to read more about this doctor who was so brazenly declaring his unfitness for family practice.

Then body copy explains:

“Neurosurgery is one of the few medical specialties for which I am well-suited. I am not warm and fuzzy. I could never be successful as a pediatrician or in a family practice — no one would come back a second time. But I am very good at what I do.”

Dr. Goodman then substantiates his claimed expertise with a list of very impressive professional qualifications and accomplishments, rounded off with some examples of his extreme commitment to surgical excellence and his patients’ well-being.

While his professional qualifications are truly outstanding, most readers would never have read them without Dr. Goodman’s reverse-camouflaged headline.

Saying what he wasn’t allowed Dr. Goodman to stand out amidst the clutter.

4 Sure-Fire Ways to Reverse-Camouflage Your Messaging:

1. Name your enemy. Personify it, if you have to.

For one client, a builder, I named the enemy Cheap-Bid-Charlie. Dominos Pizza famously personified their enemy as The Noid. Allstate Insurance has Mayhem. It helps to make the enemy as vividly realized in the audience’s mind as possible.

Dr. Bergman doesn’t bother naming the enemy, only because if you need a brain surgeon, you know exactly what enemy you’re facing. But for most businesses, this can be an important step.

2. Present a tightly focused perspective that speaks to your ideal customer.

It’s not just a matter of who you are, or even aren’t. It’s who you are for your ideal customer. What role you play for them. Dominoes isn’t just a pizza place. They’re the pizza guys who specialize in fast delivery of still piping hot pizza.

If what you really want is a gourmet, sit-down, wood-fired-pizza experience, they’re not your guys. But if you need to feed a hungry family in a hurry while you take care of other things, Dominoes is there to save the day.

3. Admit the downside. Declare who you aren’t

This is where Dr. Bergman’s ad shines so well. He was willing to admit he was an incredibly intense man with no bedside manner. And that bought his later claims of unparalleled excellence and commitment a ton of credibility.

Note, often the (or at least a) downside will be price. You’re more expensive. You don’t have to explicitly state that, but you should communicate it indirectly. For the builder who stood against Cheap-Bid-Charlie, I was indirectly admitting that his bids would NOT be the cheapest. But they would be guaranteed, as would be the quality. See how that works?

4. If one of your upsides is certainty, pound that drum hard

IBM was famous for standing against FUD — Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Other competitors could compete on price and sometimes even on technological superiority. But who knew if those competitors would still be around in five years. Or if their new tech was all that field tested. After all, “no one ever got fired for going with IBM.”

See how they’re pounding on the benefit of certainty? You should do the same when your declared enemy either directly is or includes the element of uncertainty.

And that’s Reverse Camouflage 101.

Want to reverse camouflage your business? I’d be happy to help.

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