I was today years old when I learned about No Name — Canada’s most boring brand that is in a constant state of existential crisis.

The packaging is lowercase Helvetica over a yellow background.

The website says, “Website”.

The Twitter page says, “Twitter page”.

Their sole ad campaign of the last decade saw them matter-of-factly labeling everything as exactly what it is (legendary): 

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Our studio has a fairly large amount of Canadian clients, who describe themselves as practical humans who will happily forego hifalutin branding to save a buck. Canadian taxes are high and housing costs are astronomical; these folks are not swayed by fancy shiznit if it costs more.

One of my favorite CA clients explained this to me on the phone one day, as she stood in line to purchase her economical coffee from Tim Horton’s “because Starbucks is a SCAM and I am no fool. Basic-b coffee is best coffee.”

Perhaps it makes sense that No Name — Canada’s most bizarrely understated “anti-brand” brand — has grown from 16 to 3k+ products with soaring popularity. That includes its line of ominous-looking merchandise that sells out overnight:

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When the No Name products were first released, they were reportedly criticized for being too severe…too Soviet (gasp). But today, more than 40 years after its understated debut, No Name is a beloved Canadian brand gem with a cult-like following.

Naturally, there’s the satirical element here. No Name’s design choices are mostly a critique on consumerism. Don Watt, the smart dude at the helm of its campaign, believed that reducing packaging clutter and embracing simplicity would create greater memorability than The Flashy Brand Approach.

He also wanted to remove stigma for shoppers who couldn’t afford more familiar, high-end supermarket product lines: “I resented people making things look bad, for people who don’t have money.”

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What can we learn from No Name?

First, I love the reminder that brand differentiation is not a dark art — it’s simply about separating yourself.

No Name IS a tad bizarre as marketing examples go, but it’s a brand that successfully achieved differentiation through contrast.

To quote Ted Morgan, “positioning is like finding a seat on a crowded bus.” In other words, most brands walk on the bus, glance both ways, and settle for piling up on top of the other. No Name made a confident beeline for the top deck, found an empty seat, painted it yellow, and announced that no one else can sit there.

So, Lesson 01: Point at the status quo and separate yourself from it.

Another great example of this is HEY, the company that pitted themselves against mainstream email. Email sucked for years…but not anymore…because look!, HEY fixed it. I wrote about this HERE. (If you love that one, you’ll love this one, too.)

The second lesson is exclusivity.

No Name’s positioning is starkly simple, and iconic for its refusal to be known for multiple things: “Guys, look how much we can strip away and STILL give you something you really want.”

So, Lesson 02: Take a singular marketing focus that strips away the superfluous. Make it easy to sum yourself up; that makes you memorable.

The final lesson is consistency.

How can you imprint yourself with consistent tone, consistent aesthetics, consistent messaging?

No Name cracks the same joke over and over, and somehow it gets better every time. Meanwhile, Doubletree has given out free chocolate chip cookies for decades and Subway has sold just one type of sandwich for 50+ years.

Separation, exclusivity, and consistency are how great brands are built.

Realtorland needs more of these things. Treat your brand with care today. 

P.S – What’s BLUEPRINT, again? 

We’re a gaggle of designers, writers, and creatives on a mission to change the branding narrative in real estate.

We offer a signature branding service and the industry’s most elegant and high-converting digital products to help modern, stylish Realtors do three things:

➝ Communicate their worth;

➝ Become the obvious choice;

➝ Tell the right stories to stand out + SELL more.

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