Even in well-established categories that seem commoditized, you can still find ways to differentiate.
Here’s a great example from Vacation, a sunscreen brand.
Two things that stick out to me in their positioning:
1) They claim their product is “The World’s Best-Smelling Sunscreen.” I looked at dozens of Amazon reviews that back this up, with people not only mentioning the smell, but saying they purchased because of the hype around the smell.
2) They position their product as “Leisure-Enhancing Sunscreen.” Building a brand focused more on fun while the competition focuses on sun protection, which, lets be honest, is a downer.
A quote from one of the founders, Lach Hall:
“We looked at the history of sunscreen and realized that it was a lot more fun in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Once the conversation about the dangers of tanning became more frequent in the ‘90s, the whole category shifted to being more clinical. Everybody’s on board with wanting to protect their skin now and we know the dangers of skin cancer and sun exposure. So we reference ‘80s aesthetics to harken back to that time when sunscreen was more fun.”
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