"If You're for Everybody, You're for Nobody" - Rivalry is Good?

I recently read an article by James Forsyth in The Spectator, where he dropped the line “If you’re for everybody, you’re for nobody”. This was in reference to the Tories last election campaign, in which they did their best to rally Britain as a whole, crying for ‘Big Society’ and a sense of community. This, as we know, was not enough to win a majority.

I love this line. Forsyth suggests that in order to win a majority, you need to pitch your appeal to a specific group – i.e. nail your colours to the mast and then get people to come with you on that idea. So what if you marginalise a few people? The people that you do engage with will be incredibly loyal and this loyalty will grow and grow as more of the out group realise they actually want to get involved.

This reminded me of a TED talk by Simon Sinek, where he explains that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. The idea goes that people don’t just want to be sold something, they want to believe what you (the brand) believe.  Sinek points to Apple as an example, which is somewhat overused, but a perfect starting point.  Apple believe in challenging the status quo in everything they do and producing simple, aesthetically pleasing products. They just happen to make computers, phones, tablets, mp3 players etc.

What it also suggests, however, is that marginalising some people – or at least creating a sense of rivalry – is a good thing. Not only does it help to create exclusivity, but groups are often at their strongest when united towards a common cause (e.g. Apple vs Microsoft, Red Bull's devotion to and engagement with the extreme and mildly rebellious, the current French strikes). This is not a new idea – Marmite have been doing it for years and, as a result, are able to create cool stuff like this.

The big question is, how can big, long established brands that are looking for mass market appeal create a sense of exclusivity and an ‘in’ and ‘out’ group without alienating a good chunk of their customer base? Cadbury’s have given it a go with their recent Spots & Stripes campaign. It’s certainly a start.