It's not a pleasant feeling to see how your work is being copied head to tail. So we understand why you can't find joy in the phrase: Being copied is something that shows you are really good at what you do. However, there is no better indicator that you are on the right track than when the competition starts copying you. And yet, how do you get out of this situation? Or how do you cope with it?
Did it happen to you also? A former work colleague copied one of your campaigns or maybe the competition tried to reproduce your ads?
We have lived the experience! As a visible online agency, our campaigns, which we use online to market ourselves, have been copied head to toe.
We were surprised to find that the products we offer, the subject of the newsletters, the entire sentences in our texts were reproduced in different contexts. We even found out that our agency's name was used on Google maps by another competitor.
So we know that being copied is not a pleasant feeling. However, there is no better indicator that you are on the right track.
But you still have to find a way to get over the moment, right?
We love promotional campaigns! We also love them because they offer an offline, physical experience that cannot be easily copied.
The promotional products are personalized with the name, the slogan of the companies and are chosen according to the colors that best represent the message / brand. Who would be interested in copying a promotional campaign like this?
So, here is a first step. Invest in things that are truly hard to copy, like promotional campaigns. Or things that require much more energy and dollars spent and are not so easy to copy with just a tap or a push of CTRL + C and CTRL + V.
If a banner or tagline is simple to copy, campaigns with promotional products are so personal that it is difficult to do the same thing twice. We have demonstrated this in our campaigns multiple times.
In addition, online information circulates at the speed of light - the faster it appears, the faster it disappears. So sometimes it is hard for the person who receives the message to know if what is in front of him or her, is the copy or the original.
But a copied promotional can't be hidden. Eventually the original will come forward and the copy will be identified as just that: a mere copy.
Change with the speed of light, if you must and keep the competition guessing
If the competition is a step away from you online and copies every campaign you make, change the strategy.
For example: you have chosen to promote a service, the competition does the same thing. It promotes the same products or services you've selected from your portofolio. No biggie: just choose to showcase another service or use a new method to promote it.
Offline - in promotional campaigns, you will easily find the necessary inspiration. You can convey the essence of your business - your brand and your voice with the help of personalized gifts.
The message you would have used online and would have disappeared or been easily copied, becomes immortal on a promotional product.
Refuse to stay anchored in the past
No matter how hard your competitors try to keep up with you, they won't be able to do that as long as you're focused on taking the next step and you are not dwelling too much on past successes.
You have no way of influencing the past, so:
- Always look ahead, think what is the next step in your strategy - if you still want to focus on how much are the other copying from you just remember time is limited. Investing it in such analyzes will just mean wasting time.
- When you can, choose to respond with humor - the copies deserve to be ridiculed, but only if you can do it in a really funny way;
- Create, create, create - keep your mind active and surround yourself with people and places that inspire you. Find inspiration and consult with specialists for those best creative solutions.
To copy something is at the same time an effort - an effort that consumes time and energy that you could use for your own original product.
Moreover, in promotional campaigns, as in any campaign, it really matters who took that first. Who was the agency or company that broke the ice.
It is quite difficult, under the legislative conditions, to prove in court that you are copied when advertising online. So better use your financial resources to create something completely new and keep your leadership in the market.
Innovate before everyone else and rest assure this way you will keep a step ahead in your industry.