Scroll through any corporate website or social media feed and you’ll likely get slapped with platitudes.

“We’re innovators!”
“Driven by passion!”
“Committed to excellence!”

This isn’t branding. It’s blanding.

The problem is most companies fail at brand strategy. They rely on the same worn-out frameworks that offer no real differentiation.

You don’t need razzle-dazzle taglines or purpose statements. You need clarity and contours - so people get who you are and why it matters.

Here are 3 ways to fix bland brand strategy:

1. Spot the White Space

Don’t recycle the same positioning and messaging other players use. Figure out the wide open gaps uniquely suited to what you offer.

Study the competitive landscape and do subtraction. Identify claims and language everybody else leans on, then avoid those. Search out fresh vacant territory only you can occupy.

Staking out unclaimed white space instantly sets you apart while remaining authentic.

2. Give Yourself Constraints

Most brands want to be all things to all people, so they say nothing specific to anyone. They fear limiting their appeal by taking a stand.

But limits liberate creativity and clarity. Figure out precisely who you want to serve and what uniquely delights them. Narrow it down.

Then use those guardrails to inform bolder choices everywhere else. Constraints provide the contours for resonance.

3. Use Frames, Not Slogans

Concocting hollow taglines or slick campaigns is easy. Embedding strategic frameworks that organize thinking is harder but more valuable.

A slogan may get likes, but a positioning frame gets leverage. It informs decisions and sets a filter for staying consistent long-term versus chasing whims.

Slogans fade. Frames form the foundation to build.

Most brand efforts fall flat because companies refuse to make distinct choices. They cling to cliches that numb instead of magnetize.

Meaningful differentiation isn’t complicated.

- spot the white space
- apply smart constraints
- establish frames

Do less but do it better.
Have the courage to leave things out.

That’s how to wake up sleepy brand strategy and pull ahead of the pack. By standing for something specific versus nothing in particular.