It's easy to build a copy cat brand. Way too easy
It's so easy to blindly copy others these days.
We're surrounded by inspiration everywhere we look.
Every post, every article, every platform. We're surrounded by people doing amazing things that we want for ourselves sometimes.
The truth? We're influenced by what we see, like, or dislike. It's human nature. Our preferences get shaped over time by countless experiences.
This comes up often in client strategy sessions. A little inspiration is fine.
But I hate when it becomes "Let's do everything that brand is doing!"
"Our logo doesn't look as nice as theirs"
"They're doing TikTok videos, so we should also get on that"
You'd be surprised how frequently I hear things like these in client meetings.
Sure, you could try to copy the surface-level stuff you see from others. Mimic color palettes, designs, aesthetics, and so on. It's very easy to dab these things by just having access to them.
Most people do this. I've even had my fair share of copy cat Mike's popping up all over Instagram. I used to be so worked up about that, but now I couldn't be bothered.
Why?
A few reasons:
You can't keep up an act forever. People eventually see through the fakeness.
You'll always play second fiddle. You're in the dark about the real underlying strategy.
Instead of being a carbon copy, do the hard work of building your own identity.
Drawing inspiration from multiple sources is great. Blending influences with your own twist? Even better.
That's different from outright cloning one brand. Those two approaches create vastly different brand experiences for your audience.
Last week, I shared a brand-building exercise on IG but here's a quick version:
What's your core idea? What are you trying to create?
List brands/people inspiring this idea.
For each, write down why they made the list.
Decide what elements you genuinely want to adapt.
Blend those into your own authentic approach.
The goal? Don't reinvent the wheel from scratch.
Put a fresh spin on what resonates with you from various inspirations. And be very open to giving them credit where it's due.
That's how you avoid mindless copying while still allowing influences.
Let me know if you enjoyed this one.
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Wishing you nothing but the best this week.