Something Different | Strategic Consultancy

Helping businesses succeed with clear strategy, brand clarity, and marketing that stands out.

With over 20 years of helping businesses of all shapes and sizes, I know starting, building, and growing a business takes courage, commitment, passion, and a sense of "what if".

In today’s crowded marketplace, blending in isn’t an option. It starts with your beliefs about your customers and the value you offer; this should drive your actions, the products and experiences you create, your brand, and how you present yourself to the world.

I’m here to help you find your "something different", to uncover what makes you special, the unique value you bring, to help you stand out, be more chosen, and build long-term business success.

Helping you to become Something Different in your category, or to create a whole new one.

What I Do (And Why It Matters)

Creating the right moves to stand out.

Create Your Business Strategy & Plan

Create and Grow Your Brand

Making You Harder to Ignore

Be Your Marketer for Hire

Train and Develop Your Team

Creating the right moves to stand out.

Too many businesses struggle with one of two problems.

1. They're doing good work, but they're not being noticed.

2. They have ambition, but lack a clear and confident plan for growth.

At Something Different, I help you make a change.

Working With Me

I like to start things with a conversation, no obligation, no cost, just a chat to hear about your business, your challenges, problems, what got you to where you are, and where you want to go.

From there, we can discuss how I can assist you moving forward.

My sole focus is to ensure you are more appealing, more sought after, and achieve your long-term ambitions.

Whether you’re stuck, ambitious, or just tired of blending in, I’d love to help.

Let's talk and work out what’s next.

Musings

Thoughts and musings about business, brand, marketing, human behaviour, media, and great campaigns that will help you overcome your business problems, maximise your opportunities, and find your something different.

Marketing Strategy

A Decidedly Useful Guide To Differentiation

2 Jul 2025

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15 min read

Being meaningfully different can open up new opportunities. In this guide, we explore how businesses can use differentiation to their advantage.

Marketing Strategy

Have We Forgotten What We're Meant to Understand?

27 Jun 2025

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5 min read

Here's a short slide rant about physics envy, marketing's number addiction, and the irrational beauty of actual human behaviour.

Marketing Strategy

A Decidedly Useful Guide to Finance for Marketers

13 Jun 2025

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25 min read

The gap between marketers and finance, two vital parts of the business, speaks past each other, rather than together, and growth and business performance suffer.

Marketing Strategy

In-Out-Grow-Retain

3 Jun 2025

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5 min read

Are people in or out of the market? Are they customers or non-customers? Knowing this shapes what you do and what you measure to drive business success.

Marketing Strategy

A Decidely Useful Guide to Behaviour Change

8 May 2025

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20 min read

For some, changing behaviour is the holy grail of marketing. This is a handy guide on how to do it.

Marketing Strategy

To Change The Outcome, Change The Story

28 Apr 2025

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5 min read

Many things can improve a company's prospects, but the story you tell can increase the chances you are chosen over your competition. This is an ode to that.

Marketing Strategy

The prime, nudge, convert, retain framework

22 Apr 2025

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8 min read

When it comes to marketing your business and thinking about what to communicate, the Prime, Nudge, Convert, Retain framework is a beauty. Allow me to explain.

Marketing Strategy

What Was Done In Year One of Something Different

20 May 2025

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3 min read

Year one of Something Different is complete. As a strategist, I can't share everything I do, as it's confidential, but here's a quick review.

Marketing Strategy

12 marketing principles worth knowing and applying

20 Mar 2025

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8 min read

With lots to occupy our minds and lots we could do here are 12 marketing principles worth knowing and applying.

Marketing Strategy

The long and short of it for startups and SMEs

18 Mar 2025

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20 min read

The Long and Short of It is one of the best pieces of marketing research, and this is how its principles can be applied to startups and SMEs.

Marketing Strategy

How Brands Grow for startups and SMEs

11 Feb 2025

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20 min read

How Brands Grow is one of the best marketing books, built from decades of buyer data, and this is how its principles can be applied to startups and SMEs.

Marketing Strategy

A Decidely Useful Guide to Marketing

26 Nov 2024

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20 min read

A guide to marketing that will help bring focus and clarity to what is most important to drive effectiveness.

Business Strategy

Becoming Something Different

14 Jan 2025

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20 min read

How will you find your competitive edge and new ways to create value? How will you find your something different? This series of workshops will help uncover how.

Business Strategy

In business what you believe matters

21 Jan 2025

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15 min read

What you believe shapes how you behave, the value you create for customers, the brand you build, and how you present yourself to the world.

Business Strategy

A personal reflection on 2024

12 Dec 2024

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4 min read

2024 was the year I went solo and started my own thing. Here are some learnings.

Marketing Strategy

The Magnificent 7 Communications Ideal-dos

6 Dec 2024

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3 min read

7 ideal-dos for when it comes to communications and embracing the Promotional 'P' of marketing.

Business Strategy

Its not about you

2 Nov 2024

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4 min read

It's important to remember that in life, business, and personal growth, it's not about you but what you can do for someone else.

Marketing Strategy

The Magnificent 7 Maketing Ideal-dos

15 Nov 2024

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3 min read

When it comes to marketing, there are so many things you could do and many you shouldn't, so here are 7 things you should ideally do.

Business Strategy

What is the problem?

1 Nov 2024

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4 min read

It's important not to be a solution looking for a problem. Businesses should focus on identifying real, impactful issues before jumping into solutions.

Business Strategy

Something different is scary

24 Oct 2024

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5 min read

Doing something different can be scary for a host of reasons, but it can also open up many opportunities to drive innovation, growth, and success.

Business Strategy

What is your something different?

22 Oct 2024

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5 min read

Strategy is about finding your place, space, and competitive edge. It's about finding something different to set you apart from your competition.

Marketing Strategy

Its worth remembering humans are irrational

15 Oct 2024

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5 min read

You see it in advertising all the time: lots of rational information. It is important to remember, though, that humans are irrational.

Marketing Strategy

Why emotion matters in advertising

14 Oct 2024

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5 min read

We talk of brand-building, building future demand, and connecting emotionally, but why is emotion important? Emotions direct our attention; attention builds memory

Marketing Strategy

Getting strategy right first matters greatly

7 Oct 2024

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5 min read

Where should I concentrate my marketing efforts to make the most significant positive impact on helping the business achieve its short and long-term ambitions?

Marketing Strategy

The keys to effectiveness and what to measure

2 Sep 2024

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10 min read

Focusing on these key things will increase your marketing's effectiveness and your ability to grow your business

Marketing Strategy

Less is often more

13 Sep 2024

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6 min read

Most brands, big and small, try to do way too many things and communicate about all of them, but doing fewer things, as well as you can, is usually better.

Business Strategy

Release the handbrake to achieve your goals

2 Oct 2024

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3 min read

When examining a business problem, it is essential to determine what is stopping you from achieving your goals before focusing on moving forward.

Marketing Strategy

I loathe wasting money

5 Sep 2024

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4 min read

Brands waste a lot of money on things that they simply do not have to. Here are a few that I think are worth pointing out.

Brand Strategy

What are you fighting for

25 Sep 2024

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3 min read

To create a rallying cry for your entire organisation, ask yourself, what are we fighting for? What are we fighting against?

Business Strategy

Things to ponder, discuss, answer, and then do

12 Aug 2024

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7 min read

With so much for business owners, leaders and marketers to think about, here is a collection of really useful things.

Marketing Strategy

The marketing Olympics

30 Jul 2024

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5 min read

If there were a marketing Olympics, would your brand make it onto the podium? Is Gold a possibility?

Marketing Strategy

Customer value framework

31 Jul 2024

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5 min read

Businesses often lose sight of the customer, and this framework puts the customer and how you meet their needs front and centre again.

Brand Strategy

Taking responsibility for your brand

22 Jul 2024

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4 min read

Each interaction a customer or potential customer has with your brand matters; creating positive memories is everyone's responsibility.

Marketing Strategy

Don’t be ignored

23 Mar 2024

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5 min read

A few years ago, the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute researched how many ads TV viewers could recall the next day. The majority weren't remembered.

Business Strategy

The issue with short-termism and working in silos

20 Jun 2024

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5 min read

Humanity's challenges are complex, with political divides and short cycles hindering progress. Businesses also suffer from silos and short-termism.

Marketing Strategy

Speaking finance for marketers

20 Aug 2024

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5 min read

Marketers often don't speak the language of CFOs and the C-Suite, yet marketers are instrumental in delivering business success. Speaking the same language helps.

Marketing Strategy

From knowing nothing about your brand to knowing something

5 Jul 2024

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4 min read

Saying less is usually more in helping category buyers know at least something about your brand.

Business Strategy

Reflections after 4 weeks of Something Different

18 Jun 2024

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3 min read

After taking the leap and going out on my own, here are some reflections after the first 4 weeks.

Training & Development

The foundations of better business and marketing part 1

16 Apr 2024

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10 min read

The fundamental principles that all businesses should understand and adopt as they have been proven to be effective across industries, geographies, and time.

Training & Development

The foundations of better business and marketing part 2

1 May 2024

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10 min read

Part 2 in the foundations of what makes for better business, brand and marketing strategy.

Marketing Strategy

Know where you are before you plan where you are going

10 Jun 2024

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2 min read

It's important to understand where your business is in the market, in relation to your competition, and in buyers' minds before setting your strategy.

Brand Strategy

Brand salience is so very important

11 Jun 2024

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3 min read

Growing your brand salience will help grow your business. Salience is a beautiful thing for any business to nurture and grow.

Business Strategy

Focus and simplicity are wonderful things

2 Jul 2024

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3 min read

Focusing on SMART goals for your business, your TO, and then defining how you'll achieve it, your BY are so essential.

Business Strategy

Get yourself some grade A talent

25 Sep 2024

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4 min read

Talented professionals who are new parents are perfect for part-time or more flexible positions that allow them to put their talents to good use for businesses.

Marketing Strategy

Survive and thrive through economic uncertainty

23 Mar 2024

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5 min read

Economic headwinds will undoubtedly remain through 2024 and into 2025. Beyond that, who can say with any great certainty? ...

Marketing Strategy

Creativity can be scary

15 May 2024

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7 min read

While creativity is lauded as the catalyst for innovation and growth, it's often shunned in practice, because it can be different, confronting, or scary to embrace.

Business Strategy

Why Something Different?

23 Mar 2024

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2 min read

Helping businesses believe, build and become Something Different.

Business Strategy

The power of doing Something Different in business

23 Mar 2024

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5 min read

Embrace the power of differentiation, of distinctiveness, of doing something different. Encourage creativity and use it to its fullest potential to maximise growth

Marketing Strategy

The power of doing Something Different in marketing

23 Mar 2024

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5 min read

In the vast ocean of marketing, standing out requires more than just following the herd; it demands making your path.

View All Musings

Contact

Something Different is a strategic consultancy I founded after a 20+ year career honed overseas and in Aotearoa. I am an award-winning strategist and have worked with some of New Zealand's and the world's biggest brands, like Unilever, IBM, Activision, Spark, ANZ, Lotto NZ, Foodstuffs, Mercedes-Benz, Restaurant Brands, Bayer, GSK, HP, Mediaworks, Nissan, Pernod Ricard, DB Breweries, Mike Greer Homes, challenger brands like 2degrees and Skinny (who are now pretty big), and some who were and are just getting started.

Gareth 0'Conner

Gareth O'Connor

Founder & Strategist

Get in touch