Charlie Rose.
In a world flooded with brands screaming for attention, distinctiveness alone is no longer enough. If you want to be remembered, recognised, and chosen, you need more than weirdness. You need meaning.
Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs) – the logos, characters, colours, sounds and symbols you know and love – are now foundational to modern marketing. High-performing brands don’t just rely on campaigns and claims, they rely on assets that are unique. Think ownable symbols that no one else can replicate.
DBAs are famous. Instantly recognised and mentally available, not to mention memorable. They’re top of mind in the moments that matter.
But here’s the friction: most marketers have doubled down on unique and have taken this to mean “abstract is better.”
Ehrenberg-Bass and others argue that symbols without meaning are more flexible, longer-lasting, and less prone to confusion. But if you're not a category leader with a billion-dollar budget, abstract alone just won’t cut it.
The new reality of brand building
Gone are the days of saturating television with the same 30-second spot until the public is hypnotised. Today’s brands are discovered in scrolls, not slots; judged in milliseconds, not minutes; and processed instantly.
This attention economy punishes complexity. Meaningless or abstract DBAs require costly, repeated exposure to build association. Meanwhile, figurative and meaningful assets leapfrog the learning curve by tapping into mental shortcuts we already have.
And by figurative, I mean representing real-world objects, concepts, or ideas in a recognisable and meaningful way.
Relevance isn’t a luxury. It’s a weapon.
Why meaning works faster
The thesis is simple: the fastest and most efficient way to build a distinctive brand is by creating assets that are rich in category or cultural meaning.
Because figurative assets are easier to recognise and recall. Brands with meaningful symbols are more trusted and emotionally resonant. Even among the world’s top brands, half use meaningful, literal assets that reinforce the brand name (think Apple, Shell, or Target).
The monster problem: distinctiveness at the expense of relevance
Look around and you’ll spot the industry’s latest affliction: monster madness. From ResMed’s shaggy horned creature for sleep apnoea to Australian Retirement Trust’s future-you beast and Myer’s “Humbug” monster, a pink holiday creature that’s walked straight out of Monsters Inc, each was launched within the last 12 months, and each is a masterclass in distinctiveness without relevance.
They’re different by category but similar in execution. None are tied to category meaning. None build intuitive associations. They’re designed for virality, not long-term memory structures.
We’ve traded clarity for cuteness. Long-term brand building for quick hits of uniqueness. And consumers are the ones paying with confusion.
The cognitive science of figurative assets
Still think “meaningless” is better?
A 2023 study from the Journal of Business Research tested 841 participants on brand recall and found figurative logos (e.g. apples, violins, fish) were far more memorable than abstract acronyms. The study also found that adding semantic richness –combining a name with a meaningful image – boosted recall dramatically.
Why? Because this activates pattern recognition, verbal encoding, semantic memory, and cognitive fluency.
In short, meaning saves your marketing budget by doing more work upfront.
Australian brands get it
Real-world case studies back this up. Assets grounded in category or cultural meaning outperform time and time again. Just look at these examples of category-relevant DBAs:
- Louie the Fly – Pest control personified (Mortein)
- Coles Down Down Hand – Price perception symbol
- REA House Logo – Signals real estate
- AAMI Call Centre Character – Human, reliable insurance service
And when you’re going for cultural meaning, look to these performers:
- NAB Star – National identity and stability
- SEEK Arrow – Career progress, upward momentum
- St George Dragon – Heritage, strength, and local identity
- ING Lion – European stability, strength, and warmth
These brands didn’t chase abstract. They chased relevance. Then they executed it in a uniquely ownable way.
Meaning ≠ boring. It just needs better execution
Let’s be clear: I’m not saying every logo should be a literal cartoon. Meaning without distinctiveness is generic. The key is to express meaning in a radically fresh way.
So how can you put these learnings into action for your brand?
Start with the category. What symbols or associations do people already link to your space?
Add cultural layering. What meaning can you own that taps into broader emotion or belief?
Deliver it distinctively. Your execution must be creatively ownable and strategically unique. Make the asset express who you are and what makes your business different.
The result? Assets that are faster to remember, harder to ignore, and cheaper to build into memory.
Fame isn’t free, but it doesn’t have to be slow
In the war for mental availability, abstract logos and quirky monsters might win some awards. But they lose where it matters: recall, emotion, and brand value.
If you're a brand leader without Google’s budget or Coke’s media muscle, the choice is clear: abstract and expensive, or meaningful and memorable. I know which option I would choose to take the faster path to fame.
Charlie Rose is a Strategy Director at branding agency Principals.