August 2026 - PHd design

Why “We Do It Better” Doesn’t Differentiate Your Business

Industry News 28th August 2026

Illustration showing why generic marketing claims fail to differentiate a business, encouraging clear and specific brand positioning that helps customers remember and choose you.

A lot of businesses believe differentiation is about making bigger claims.

“We’re the best.”

“We go the extra mile.”

“We deliver quality.”

“We do it better.”

The problem isn’t that these statements are false.

It’s that everyone else is saying exactly the same thing.

When every business claims to be different, nobody actually stands out.

Real differentiation isn’t about shouting louder than your competitors.

It’s about giving people a reason to remember you.

 

“We Do It Better” Isn’t A Position

Imagine you’re looking for an accountant, a builder or a design agency.

You visit five websites.

Within a few minutes you’ve read that every business offers exceptional service, puts customers first, has years of experience and prides itself on quality.

By the end of the fifth website, could you confidently remember which company said what?

Probably not.

Generic statements rarely stick because they don’t create a picture in your mind. They tell people you’re competent, but they don’t tell people why they should choose you.

Professionalism is expected.

Differentiation is earned.

 

Bigger Claims Don’t Create Bigger Memories

One of the biggest misconceptions in branding is that standing out means making increasingly impressive promises.

It doesn’t.

People are naturally sceptical of superlatives because they’re impossible to measure.

What does “the best” actually mean?

Best value?

Best service?

Best quality?

Fastest turnaround?

Unless you explain it, the statement becomes meaningless.

Ironically, the businesses trying hardest to sound impressive often end up sounding identical.

 

The Businesses People Remember Say Something Different

Think about the businesses you naturally remember.

Often it isn’t because they made the biggest claims.

It’s because they looked at their industry from a different angle.

Sometimes that’s through the way they explain what they do.

Sometimes it’s the audience they choose to focus on.

Sometimes it’s the process they’ve built.

Sometimes it’s the problem they’ve decided to solve better than anyone else.

That perspective becomes something people can actually recall.

And that’s where effective positioning begins.

 

Differentiation Isn’t About Being Different For The Sake Of It

Being memorable doesn’t mean becoming quirky, controversial or intentionally unusual.

The strongest brands don’t invent differences.

They uncover the ones that already exist.

Perhaps your experience allows you to solve problems others overlook.

Perhaps your process removes uncertainty.

Perhaps you understand your customers’ industry better than anyone else.

Perhaps you communicate complicated information in a way that’s genuinely easy to understand.

Those are meaningful differences because they’re grounded in reality.

They’re difficult for competitors to copy because they’re based on how your business thinks, not simply what it says.

 

Positioning Makes Every Part Of Your Marketing Work Harder

Strong positioning influences far more than your homepage headline.

It shapes your website.

Your sales conversations.

Your social media.

Your proposals.

Your presentations.

Even the way existing customers recommend you to other people.

When your message is clear, people don’t have to work out why you’re different.

They already know.

That reduces hesitation, builds trust and makes it easier for potential customers to choose you over businesses making the same generic promises.

It’s one of the reasons effective branding isn’t simply about looking professional.

It’s about becoming easier to understand, easier to remember and ultimately easier to buy from.

 

A Simple Test

Here’s a useful exercise.

Cover up your logo.

Now read the copy on your website.

If your competitors could swap their company name onto the page without changing a single sentence, your positioning probably isn’t doing enough.

The goal isn’t to sound better than everyone else.

The goal is to sound unmistakably like you.

Because businesses aren’t remembered for claiming they’re different.

They’re remembered for proving it.

 

Ready To Find What Actually Makes Your Business Different?

At PHd Design, we don’t begin by asking what colours you like or which logo style you prefer.

We begin by understanding your business, your customers and the commercial challenges you’re trying to solve. That’s where genuine differentiation comes from.

If your branding could belong to almost anyone in your industry, perhaps it’s time to uncover what truly makes your business worth remembering.

If you’d like an honest, jargon-free chat, get in touch with our team. And if you enjoy practical insights into branding and design, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more helpful tips and ideas.

 

  • Why “We Do It Better” Doesn’t Differentiate Your Business

Like what you see?

GET IN TOUCH

  • Frankster’s: Turning Good Food into a Stand-Out Shelf Presence

Frankster’s: Turning Good Food into a Stand-Out Shelf Presence

Our Work 11th August 2026

Modern packaging design for Frankster's Burger Sauce, showcasing PHd Design's branding and packaging refresh with a bold, contemporary label designed to improve shelf impact.

Some brands don’t need reinventing. They just need tightening up.

Frankster’s had the flavour. They had the attitude. They had a loyal following. What they didn’t have (in their own words) was a range that felt as punchy and current as the food itself.

Their sauces were doing the job on burgers and fries. But on shelf? They were starting to blend in.

And blending in is expensive.

So we got to work.

The Challenge: Look The Part. Stand Out In A Crowd.

This project sits squarely within two of our strategic pillars:

Look the part – making a strong first impression
Stand out in a crowd – clear differentiation in busy markets

The sauce category is noisy. Red labels. Flames. Bold type. Claims shouting from every angle.

When everything shouts, nothing gets heard.

Frankster’s didn’t need more noise. They needed clarity and confidence.

Keeping The Soul. Modernising The Signal.

The existing brand had recognisable elements — the burger-shaped framing device, the bold red, the playful tone. Throwing it all out would have been wasteful (and commercially risky).

Instead, we refreshed.

We sharpened the burger icon into a cleaner, more contemporary mark.
We simplified the graphic language.
We tightened the typography.
We introduced a stronger flavour hierarchy.
We built consistency across the range.

The result?

Packaging that feels deliberate rather than decorative.

Modern rather than dated.

Confident rather than crowded.

 

Making Flavour Easier To Shop

When someone is standing in front of a supermarket shelf, they aren’t reading a brand story or studying every design detail. They’re making split-second decisions based on what catches their eye and what they can understand quickly.

That was one of the key objectives behind the Frankster’s refresh. We strengthened the flavour hierarchy with bold, high-contrast naming, introduced clearer visual differentiation between each sauce, refined the iconography and used a strong central brand device to tie the entire range together.

The result is a collection that’s easier to navigate. Burger Sauce looks unmistakably like Burger Sauce, Buffalo Sauce immediately communicates heat and intensity, Garlic Mayo feels rich and creamy, and Peri Peri delivers exactly the level of energy you’d expect.

The less time a customer spends working out what they’re looking at, the easier it becomes for them to make a purchasing decision. Good packaging quietly removes friction, making the product feel like the obvious choice.

Design isn’t decoration. It’s one of your most effective sales tools.

Building Trust Through Consistency

A successful product range shouldn’t feel like a collection of individual bottles. It should feel like a family.

By creating a more consistent visual system across the Frankster’s range, each product now reinforces the next. The bold red brand colour provides instant recognition, while the flavour panels create enough distinction for every sauce to retain its own identity.

That consistency matters. It signals professionalism, builds familiarity and strengthens brand recognition over time. When customers see a range that feels cohesive and considered, they’re naturally more inclined to trust the quality behind it.

Trust is one of the few things packaging can build before a customer has even tasted the product.

Why This Matters Commercially

Although we’re still waiting for formal performance data, our conversations with Frankster’s have been extremely encouraging. The refreshed range feels stronger, more contemporary and much better equipped to compete in a busy retail environment.

Projects like this aren’t simply about making packaging look newer. They’re about improving visibility on shelf, helping shoppers recognise products more quickly and creating a stronger connection between the quality of the product and the quality of the brand presenting it.

Over time, those improvements can contribute to stronger brand recall, greater confidence in pricing and increased customer loyalty. When packaging looks intentional and professional, it changes perception. And perception has a direct influence on purchasing behaviour.

Why We Kept It Simple

One of the biggest temptations during a packaging refresh is to add more.

More graphics. More messages. More colours. More visual noise.

In reality, the opposite is often true.

The strongest packaging is usually the clearest. Every design decision should have a purpose, and every element should help the customer rather than compete for their attention.

Frankster’s didn’t need a completely different identity. They simply needed a more refined version of the one they already had. By concentrating on clarity instead of complexity, we created packaging that feels more modern without losing the personality that made the brand recognisable in the first place.

What Other Brands Can Learn

If your product range has started to feel a little dated, a complete rebrand isn’t always the answer.

Sometimes the greatest impact comes from refining what’s already there. A clearer hierarchy, a stronger visual identity and a more consistent design system can completely change how a product is perceived without losing the brand equity you’ve spent years building.

A thoughtful packaging refresh can help products attract attention more confidently, communicate more clearly and strengthen customer trust long before anyone experiences what’s inside the pack.

Frankster’s already had a product worth shouting about.

Our role was to make sure the packaging worked just as hard as the sauce inside.

Because on a crowded supermarket shelf, being noticed is the first sale you’ll ever make.

Thinking About Refreshing Your Packaging?

If your products aren’t attracting the attention they deserve, the answer isn’t always a complete rebrand. Sometimes a thoughtful packaging refresh can make all the difference, helping your products stand out, communicate more clearly and build greater confidence at the point of purchase.

At PHd Design, we create brands and packaging that don’t just look good—they work hard for your business. Whether you’re launching a new product, modernising an established range or looking to increase your impact on the shelf, we’d love to help.

Get in touch with PHd Design or subscribe to our newsletter for more branding, packaging and marketing insights, along with a behind-the-scenes look at the projects we help bring to life. 

Like what you see?

GET IN TOUCH

  • Frankster’s: Turning Good Food into a Stand-Out Shelf Presence