The Perils of Marketing Envy: Why Copying Isn’t a Strategy

Marketers are often tempted to emulate successful campaigns from brands they admire. However, simply copying another company’s strategy, even a sister brand within the same portfolio, can be a costly mistake. The key to effective marketing lies in understanding fundamental business principles – margin, consumer involvement, and competitive positioning – and tailoring strategies to the specific realities of your category.

The Schweppes and Roku Lesson

Oscar Wong, former European CMO of Suntory Beverage, recounts a recent experience with the Schweppes brand. A visually striking bar activation in Spain, inspired by Suntory’s premium gin Roku, initially proved successful. The activation, featuring vibrant décor and branded elements, created a desirable atmosphere. However, when considering scaling the campaign to hundreds of bars, the underlying economics became problematic.

Roku, a premium gin, operates with significantly higher margins than Schweppes, a mass-market soft drink. While the activation costs remained constant, the profitability differed drastically. What was financially viable for Roku would have resulted in financial losses for Schweppes. This illustrates a critical point: great marketing execution must align with the economic realities of the category.

Margin: The Foundation of Marketing Spend

A product’s margin dictates how much can be invested in marketing activities per customer acquired. Premium categories can support high-touch, expensive programs, while fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) require strategies that scale efficiently or convert at exceptional rates.

For example, Lipton Ice Tea’s attempt to reposition around “better-for-you” territory with targeted spa activations failed to gain traction. The strategy, while elegant, didn’t align with the low-margin, high-volume nature of the refreshment category, which relies on broad reach and repetition.

Consumer Involvement: Knowing Your Audience

The level of consumer involvement varies significantly across categories. Spirits and luxury goods often appeal to consumers seeking meaning, ritual, and status. In contrast, mainstream FMCG categories typically cater to simpler needs like taste, refreshment, availability, and value.

Boursin, a mass-market cheese spread, faced criticism for an invitation-only yacht event with influencers. While memorable for the attendees, the activation’s economic justification was questionable for a brand that primarily recruits customers through mass sampling, new formats, and price promotions.

Competitive Positioning: Are You a Challenger or a Leader?

A brand’s position in the market influences its marketing strategy. Challengers often need to overinvest in visibility to gain credibility and disrupt established leaders. However, market leaders should avoid mimicking challenger tactics, as they can waste resources on problems that don’t exist.

In Spain, Pepsi strategically invested in high-profile bar activations to combat its perception as a cheaper alternative to Coca-Cola, which dominates the market with over 90% share. This investment aimed to build credibility and change perceptions among bar owners and consumers. Coca-Cola, already the dominant player, would likely lose money by replicating this strategy.

Steal the Inspiration, Not the Execution

The most effective marketers draw inspiration from others but adapt ideas to their specific category realities. Before implementing a new strategy, consider these questions:

• What purchase driver do we need to impact?
• What cost per customer acquisition can we afford?
• Are we acting like a leader or a challenger?

The most expensive mistake in marketing isn’t bad creative; it’s great creative applied to the wrong category.