There’s no such thing as competition

Welcome to Creatives Anonymous, a weekly newsletter that explores what it means to be a modern-day creative through essays, interviews, and commentary.

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Businesses and creatives are obsessed with their competition. 

“What is the competition doing?”

“Who are your competitors?”

“Our competition is doing X, so we need to do it too.”

“We can’t do this because X is already doing it.”

From a business perspective, focusing on your competition is some of the worst advice you can get. 

Why? Because the idea of “competition” is an illusion. 

Sure, you have brands that operate in the same industry (because what industry isn’t oversaturated these days?) and create the same types of products (there are only so many products out there). But when you really analyze the products and the brands, the most legendary brands have created a lane of one for themselves.

Look at some of the fiercest business rivalries: Coke v. Pepsi; Microsoft v. Apple; Nike v. Adidas. 

When you really think about it, none of these brands compete with the other. 

Coke products taste different than Pepsi products. Microsoft and Apple have different operating systems, UI, and UX. Nike and Adidas are designed and fit differently. 

We think that we need to “beat” the competition, to be “better” than everyone else. 

But “better” is relative. You can be the “best” on the market but still not attract customers because they don’t see the value or resonate with what you’re selling. 

The brands that win market share aren’t necessarily “better” than the others—it ultimately comes down to preference.  

Preference can be affected by many factors, such as product quality, cost, customer service, etc. 

As they say, you can be the ripest, juiciest peach on the tree, and there will still be someone who doesn’t like peaches. 

The other problem we see with competition is homogeny. 

We all know that to stand out, we must be different from our competition. So why do we still strive to be like our competition?

Same marketing strategies. Same content. Same approach. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t feel original but referential. Moreover, we don’t see the results we’re hoping for, and it just feels off. 

Instead of standing out like we want, we blend in. 

In the process, we stunt our creativity. We try so hard to do what we think will “work” that we’re afraid to take risks and do something more authentic. 

We end up overlooking the factors that actually help us stand out.

And that’s what we should be doubling down on. 

Our perspective. Our point of view. Our process. 

This is what makes us different and helps us create a lane of one for ourselves. 

It’s how we write our own rule book for success.

And when we do that, competition doesn’t exist—because no one else can do what we do in the way we do it. 

If you want to stand out, instead of striving to be the best, strive to be different.

Creative Corner

• 🎞️ What I’m Consuming: This song radio on Spotify

• 💡 What I’m Loving: This site that sells all sorts of retro tech — makes me want to buy a GameBoy again

• 🎨 What I’m Working On: Optimizing my website

• 💭 Weekly Musing:

Thank you 💕

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I’m so grateful for all of your support!

Alexa Phillips is a writer, brand strategist, and multi-passionate creative. She is the founder of Bright Eyes Creative, a Seattle-based consultancy and media company that helps founder-led consumer brands and creatives design brand experiences that resonate, convert, and scale.

Where to find me:

• Learn more about my services 

• Listen to my recent podcast episodes.

• Follow along as I build Culture Slant, a new magazine + podcast at the intersection of brand, marketing, media, culture, commerce, and technology.

• Join Write Club, free weekly 90-minute co-writing sessions dedicated to helping you knock out all the content you have to write for your business.

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