One of my all-time favorite movies is City Slickers starring Billy Crystal. It's about three middle-aged buddies who take a vacation to a working ranch and go on a cattle drive. The tough-as-nails crew boss is played by Jack Palance, who in a famous scene tells Billy Crystal about the meaning of life. "It's this," he says holding up his index finger. "It's one thing, just one thing. Stick to that and everything else don't mean s***."

Crystal's character is in the midst of a mid-life crisis and searching for answers, so he responds, "That's great, but what's the one thing?"

"That's what you gotta figure out," Palance answers.

I don't know if that's really the meaning of life, but it is surely great marketing advice. Our firm exists to help clients build strong and memorable brands. We do this by helping businesses and destinations find that "one thing." I'm talking about finding a differentiator that separates our client from all of their competition and then keeping it at the center of their marketing and advertising strategy. You may be looking at this blog just as quizzically as Billy Crystal looked at Jack Palance. You’re wondering how can I find that big differentiator and how can we capitalize on it? I didn’t say it was easy, just that it’s vitally important to building a successful brand.

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