{
  "id": 10021813,
  "title": "‘Meaningful difference key to brand growth’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/meaningful-difference-key-to-brand-growth",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-26T16:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Philippine Star Business",
    "slug": "philippine-star-business",
    "url": "https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/09/27/2559093/meaningful-difference-key-brand-growth"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "To succeed in today's competitive market, Filipino brands must focus on creating a \"meaningful difference\" beyond simply being recognized and relevant, according to Kantar, a leading data, insights, and consulting firm. The 2026 Kantar BrandZ Spotlight report reveals three key realities for brands operating in the Philippines: salience without relevance is merely noise, relevance evolves with meaningful value, and relevance without difference stalls growth.\n\nThe report's findings come as Filipino consumers become more selective in choosing and following brands. Kantar's chief client officer, Jose Mari Villabroza, emphasizes that growth is not just about being present but making deliberate choices, staying consistent in positioning, responding to emerging opportunities, and focusing resources on what truly matters.\n\nThe study analyzed six categories, including banking, general retail, communication providers, beer, health care supplements, and automotive, to understand changing consumer preferences. In banking, for example, changing expectations and the emergence of digital challengers highlight how relevance can shift as consumers find new ways to manage their finances. In the communication industry, the risk lies not in relevance but in diminishing distinction as connectivity becomes an essential infrastructure for Filipinos.\n\nThe report notes that brands with meaningful different characteristics can disrupt established markets in all categories, whether online or offline. In automotive, being different must be coupled with consumer desire and trust, while in the health supplement category, relevance, difference, and desirability can work together to make brands feel \"worth it\" to consumers. Beer brands must continually earn their place in consumers' lives and avoid complacency with just brand familiarity.",
  "summary": "Filipino brands must go beyond memory recall and should add relevance and significance if they want to stand out in an increasingly crowded market, according to leading data, insights and consulting firm Kantar.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}