One of FG SQUARED’s principles of business is The Concept of Singularity, and if you work with (or near) us and you’ve heard the term, you might wonder what exactly it is, why it’s important, and/or its place inside of a brand image.

Since The Concept of Singularity is a branding concept, to divine the meaning of this concept, it helps to begin with “branding.”

Branding is a term that is always in the forefront of thinking in many companies, especially among the marketing department, who are the stewards of the corporate brand and responsible for its creation, enhancement and protection.

Many definitions of “brand” exist but I prefer to describe “brand” as the sum of all perceptions that stakeholders have about a company and its products or services.

The Concept of Singularity, while part of the brand image, differs in one aspect:

- Of all the things a company may be known for, The Concept of Singularity is generally the single most important reason for which the customer purchases the product or service.

- Furthermore, a well-established Concept of Singularity serves as the best defense a brand has against competitive inroads.

How does this work?

Think for a moment about a recent major purchase you may have made or are considering, and also about what your key criteria was in that purchase decision.

To illustrate: If you are considering the purchase of a new car, and if safety is your primary concern, then you most likely have narrowed your list of possibilities to those vehicles that have reinforced that attribute.

Volvo is one brand very likely to have come to mind. If you are considering the purchase of a new set of tires for your car, and safety is your primary concern, then you might have put Michelin on your list.

Why? Because in recent years both of these brands have successfully stressed safety as a main product attribute. In fact, safety has become for both of these brands their Concept of Singularity.

This is not to suggest that this attribute is the sum total of their respective brands, rather that among all of their positive attributes, safety has risen to the top and in fact, formed a competitive barrier to any other brand that wants to claim safety as a reason to buy. Put another way, they own the safety space. This makes it difficult for a competing brand to come in on that platform.

So the question now becomes: how does a brand, your brand, develop its own Concept of Singularity?

While not difficult, it does require two key ingredients of your marketing: being consistent and being persistent.

Be consistent in the relevant platform that you are exposing to your customers, and be persistent in using that platform in one form or another in almost all of your communications internal and external. It is only over time that your brand develops that wonderful attribute that will help drive sales and keep competitors at bay.