Position Yourself to Stand Out

Callie joined me on camera to talk positioning, outtakes and all.

Watch Callie and me break this down on camera, bloopers included.

Have you ever noticed how your brain completely ignores the ordinary but remembers the unusual? A study from1933 by psychologist Hedwig von Restorff explains this exact phenomenon when she presented people with lists of similar items containing just one standout piece (like a single number hidden among letters). Her subjects remembered the isolated item almost twice as often as the rest of the list. Psychologists call this the isolation effect, which essentially proves that our brains encode what stands out and quietly forget the beige background (Hunt, 1995; von Restorff, 1933).

I've noticed this psychological principle play out in real time with my friend Callie Wylie. When I asked her what she is known for, she did not hand me a boring job title; she gave me an energy. She described herself as unapologetically authentic, reckless, and completely unfiltered in an industry where almost everyone else tries to be strictly professional. That raw honesty became her standout trait, and it completely shifted how people engaged with her personal brand.

The real secret most people miss about this 1933 study is that the odd item only gets a memory boost because everything else matches on (Hunt, 1995; von Restorff, 1933). If you want to position yourself effectively in your career, you have to decide what your unique factor is going to be before the algorithm decides for you. Distinctiveness is a deliberate decision rather than a fixed personality trait (and from the feedback Callie has received, I'm sure she agrees). You do not need to be the absolute best or the flashiest person in your category; you just need to be the one the brain refuses to forget.

In applying this to your brand and your marketing, I want to challenge you to run a quick test this week by asking a casual acquaintance what you are really known for. If they hesitate or just describe your job title, you might be blending into the background a little too much! What is the one unique thing that makes you completely stand out from the crowd? What beige qualities are you dropping this week?

References:

Hunt, R. R. (1995). The subtlety of distinctiveness: What von Restorff really did. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2(1), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214414.

von Restorff, H. (1933). Über die Wirkung von Bereichsbildungen im Spurenfeld. Psychologische Forschung, 18, 299–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02409636

APA 7th.

285.

- Kristina Bozanich - I am a fractional CMO, media producer, Congressional Record Honoree, and LGBTQ+ Advocate. To see more updates, follow on social media or sign up for email subscriptions.