The first secret to successful design is… getting NOTICED.
In The Blues Brothers, there’s a scene where John Belushi visits Dan Aykroyd’s apartment for the first time. The apartment is a tiny, cramped space situated just a few feet from the train tracks. As Belushi sits down, a train roars past, shaking everything in the room. He asks, “How often does that train go by?” Aykroyd nonchalantly replies, “So often you won’t even notice it.”
This principle aligns closely with marketing. In a world saturated with similar messages—the “sea of sameness” we navigate daily—your communication risks being overlooked. When people are inundated with constant noise, the message that stands out is often the subtle, quiet one. Why? Because it dares to be different.
It’s possible to make your product stand out, even if it’s conventional.
Consider my favorite coffee shop, strategically located between two college campuses and within easy reach for professionals. Despite being the second coffee shop to open in this spot—the first having closed down—it thrives. Business is booming, with plans to expand into coffee roasting.
Interestingly, both coffee shops shared several strengths: a prime location, quality coffee, personalized service from friendly baristas, and well-executed design and branding. They both had a polished logo, attractive decor, and adhered to the best practices of contemporary coffee shop aesthetics. Yet, despite these similarities, the first shop struggled to draw customers, while the second has become a local favorite.
They also shared this fact: they both did very little promotion, adopting a “if you build it they will come” attitude. By all accounts they were very much the same. So, what made the difference?
Did the second shop just want it more? Did they work harder? Were they more consistent with the quality of their product? Were they careful not to “bite off more than they could chew” and expand too early? Or was the overall timing better for their venture?