​​🎧 Listen to the podcast version of this email here​.​​
Ever heard this phrase?
"When everybody zigs, zag"
I wish I had come up with that line. It comes from brand strategist Marty Neumeier.
It’s also one of the simplest explanations of how to stand out.
I mean, look around you: when everyone is moving in the same direction, copying the same patterns, the easiest way to become visible is to move differently.
AI is about to make this even more obvious.
Because AI accelerates sameness.
Give a thousand people the same tools and the same prompts and what do you get?
Same ideas.
Same posts.
Same designs.
Same music.
Same formats.
Same colours.
Same fonts.
At first it looks amazing. Slick, polished, very professional.
But scroll for a minute and it all blends together.
You are now smack dead in the middle of the bell curve. In that sea of sameness.
Which is a bit ironic, cause people think using AI makes them edgy.
But if everyone is using the same tools the same way, you’re not standing out.
You’re just following the crowd faster.
I saw a great example of this last week in Lisbon.
My favourite wife surprised me with a birthday trip and we ended up in a cool craft beer place.
Behind the bar was a huge fridge filled with cans.
Every single one of them looked amazing.
Bright colours. Wild illustrations. Funky names. Crazy typography. You know the type: Galactic Mango IPA, Cosmic Triple Sour, something something hazy something.
Clearly a lot of designers had a lot of fun.
But here’s the funny part.
When every can is heavily designed and colourful, they all start looking the same again.
How do you stand out in a fridge like this?
My guess is the answer might actually be to go backwards to something like this:
Plain white can.
One word:
BEER
In a fridge full of hyper-designed cans, this would probably stand out like crazy.
When they zig, you zag.
Btw, when everything becomes uber minimalist again, it is time to change direction again.
You see the same thing in business all the time.
When computers were beige and grey and marketed with endless talk about processing power, Apple showed up with colourful machines and marketing about creativity.
When cosmetic stores looked like sterile laboratories, Lush made their shops feel like a fresh market. Bright colours, open products, the smell of soap everywhere.
And in an airline industry obsessed with luxury and polished branding, Ryanair (love 'em or hate 'em) leaned into the opposite: cheap flights, blunt messaging, and advertising that openly jokes about how basic the experience is.
They broke the pattern. They didn't follow the crowd.
And suddenly they were visible.
Of course, standing out always carries risk.
There’s even a phrase for it in some cultures: the tall poppy syndrome.
The moment a poppy grows taller than the rest of the field, someone comes along and cuts it down.
People who stand out get criticised, scrutinised or even mocked.
That’s part of the deal.
But the alternative isn’t great either.
If you never stick your head above the field, you might spend your entire career wondering what might have happened if you had taken a few more risks.
Safe brands never become number 1.
Every solo professional I know who is doing well today took those risks at some point.
Not reckless ones; calculated ones.
But risks nonetheless.
Starting your own business was already a risk. Standing out is simply another version of that.
So take a look around your field.
Where is everyone doing the same thing?
In their marketing.
In their pricing.
In their format.
In their content.
In their business model.
That’s usually where the opportunity hides.
Because when AI accelerates sameness, difference becomes more valuable.
Sometimes the easiest way to stand out is simply to do something different.
If this resonates and you’re trying to figure out how you could stand out in your space, I’m opening up my calendar for 5 one-on-one conversations over the next couple of weeks.
We’ll look at what you’re doing, what everyone else around you is doing, and where you might zag while others zig so you can get found and win business.
No charge for the first conversation. Just a practical working session.
If it turns out there’s more we could do together, we can talk about working together more closely on sharpening your proposition and your content.
Make it a great day.
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