Stealing marketing ideas and tactics from competitors keeps institutions from differentiating themselves and may result in copyright lawsuits. (istock/Thinkstock)

Improve sense of self and grow
Copying ideas may be a sign of low self-esteem

Very little has been written about why some institutions “borrow” their competitors marketing messages and tactics. One might suggest laziness, low budgets or envy accounts for their lack of original thinking. This article posits the culprit is actually low self-esteem.

Low self-esteem has been cited in problems of leadership and sales results. It’s sad but some CEOs and marketing heads actually shun fresh ideas and refuse to hire or retain innovators for fear of being eclipsed by them.

“While getting to ‘acceptable’ may not involve risk, getting to ‘one of a kind’ does. Self-confidence gives great leaders the courage they need to take their companies — and themselves — to a new level of success,” Marshall Goldsmith said in his Sept. 9, 2008 BusinessWeek article, “Self-Confidence and Success.”

Those who steal ideas from rivals’ Web sites, use generic industry catchphrases or engage in “me too” copycat advertising often claim they are doing so simply to remain competitive. This approach disobeys the first rule of marketing that says organizations must differentiate themselves to find marketplace success.

Other indicators of institutional low self-esteem include the use of “canned” advertising or techniques recommended by suppliers, trade associations or hawkers exclaiming to have the “secret formula” that has brought success to others. Two problems with these approaches are that you will fail to differentiate yourself from competitors and you may actually adopt ideas with dubious foundations.

Court orders $200,000 award for copycat advertising

Fresh ideas aren’t always successful, but copying ideas is a sure way to fail. Some organizations have gone so far as to copy another institution’s color scheme right down to the Pantone color number. Not only does this lack originality, it could subject the business to copyright infringement claims.

LowerMyBills.com, an Experian online mortgage lead generator, was awarded $200,000 after filing a copyright infringement lawsuit against NexTag, an online comparison shopping site. “LowerMyBills.com filed suit against NexTag in December 2004 for copyright infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition, claiming that NexTag copied multiple LowerMyBills.com advertisements in order to drive traffic and create interest in NexTag’s services,” according to the victor’s press release.

If your organization has developed a unique program or campaign, take steps to obtain service marks and register copyrights.

Those who fear that innovative ideas may prove too costly must consider the cost of legal defense and mediocre bottom line performance. Besides, some of the best ideas come from working within budget constraints. Low budget “guerilla” marketing is inherently more effective.

Submit your comments to creative@cocoboston.com.

‘Red Phone’ expands with newswire
Advanced tools enable sharing with social media sites

COCO+CO. will soon formally launch a newswire, distributing free breaking news to local and national media outlets. High-resolution photographs will also be available for download.

The newswire features breaking news related to a collection of businesses and nonprofit groups throughout Merrimack Valley and Greater Boston. Advanced tools allow the media to subscribe to RSS feeds, search by keywords and more. COCO+CO. client partners may also easily share news with blogs and social media sites.

“Until now, there has been no central source for local, breaking news available to journalists, leaving many to scour a long list of Web sites to fact-check and identify newsworthy happenings,” said COCO+CO. President and CEO Tim Coco. “Now, with free 24-hour access to a central database hosting credible news about major organizations across the region, journalists will save time and energy,” he said. 

All COCO+CO. client partner news will be posted to the site as-it-happens. Other organizations interested in posting news on the wire should contact COCO+CO. directly. Moreover, participating COCO+CO. client partners who display the “Red Phone” insignia will be able to accept inquiries and verifications from journalists around the clock. “In today’s 24-hour news cycle, client partners cannot risk having their sides of a story omitted simply because they could not be reached for comment,” said Coco.

A work-in-progress appears at http://www.cocoboston.com/news/.

COCO+CO. provides strategic corporate communications with an emphasis on brand consistency across media. COCO+CO. works with businesses in the financial services, quasi-public, energy efficiency and food manufacturing sectors. COCO+CO. may be reached at (800) 374-4103 or on the World Wide Web at www.cocoboston.com.