Great point. I agree that following a systematic approach can be limiting and obscure opportunities to do something new. But I do like the idea of having a ‘toolbox’ to turn to that helps ensure you haven’t overlooked directions that other brands have already used successfully.

What I’m really hoping to do is simply organize these anecdotes of success-through-differentiation so that we can at least think about them categorically as opposed to individually. If, for example, JetBlue and Charles Schwab have used a similar technique—uniquely friendly brand personalities—to stand out in their respective industries, I think seeing that connection between the two situations is the best way to learn from it and potentially do something similar in a different industry. (Whether or not they’re using the similar techniques is debatable, of course, and whether or not doing something similar elsewhere makes sense depends on context, as you’ve suggested.)

I’m never a fan of statements like “there are X ways to differentiate your brand.” The second we limit ourselves that way is the second we give up on real creativity (it also devalues us as brand consultants). But I wouldn’t mind being able to say “if you’re at an impasse and looking for a way to differentiate from competitors, here are X ideas to consider.” I’m trying to build a taxonomy of ideas to use as thought starters, I suppose.