Same, Same, but different. What does it mean?
What are “Same, Same, but different ” (aka copycat ) perfumes? Also why do many clients in the Middle East and African region continue to ask for these?
Our company does not agree to make copycat perfumes. Our heart is forever bound to creativity and innovation.
Whilst it is not a good idea to judge others who take a different route with their business, it is sometimes worthwhile to understand the pros and cons of different approaches. This can lead to more product differentiation and greater long term security for your business.
Why do people choose to make Copycat perfumes?
Normally fear will play a factor in why people make copycat perfumes instead of original ones:
- Worry that the market will not accept new creative ideas
- They are afraid that people can only understand what they have already seen
- People are sometimes scared that they may lose money by trying out new ideas
- An inability to design something new
The advantages of moving away from Copycat perfumes
- Your company can command a higher price for your product
- You will have a better reputation in the market
- Your product will stand out clearly against competitors
- It is possible to achieve greater long term security for your company
Directly copying your competitors products is never a good idea. Whereas making a product which has some similarities to their products, but is different enough may work well.
Why we should copy badly
Copying a product which works well already may be a good starting point. However, we should ideally think about how to improve the product and make some extra points of difference. We can learn from others, but not stand still. Failure to do this will result in a market of copycat perfume lookalikes with no differentiation for the consumer. We should always strive to improve. The idea of copying does not sit well with most people. In reality the best creators copy to some extent, but try to adapt and change during the creative process. We can say that they had a starting point of inspiration from elsewhere. Society is built on copying, as Mark Earls writes in his book “Copy, Copy Copy: How to do marketing smarter by using other people’s ideas’
Should we make Copycat perfumes?
We should acknowledge that not all copying is the same. Sometimes copying is a case of outright plagiarism. In other cases we might take inspiration from the original design, but make small changes and improvements.
The best painters or creators usually take inspiration from others, but the final creation rarely looks like a carbon copy of the original. Sometimes the original design might have a fatal flaw and the redesign addresses this issue.
Risk is an inherent part of business. But if nobody takes a creative risk and tries out new approaches, the market will eventually stagnate. If you would like help to move out of a creative rut with your products, please contact our team at Anisha.
If you are interested to know more about the world of design, why not check out our article on graphic designer or packaging designer. Here we discuss the differences between the two types of design specialist.