Whitespace
See also: naming whitespace, open territory
Whitespace is the territory in a category that no competitor currently occupies: a tone, a mechanism or a set of associations nobody has claimed. Finding it is the strategic payoff of a competitive audit.
In practice
Not all whitespace is opportunity. Sometimes a territory is empty because it does not work for the category. The judgement is whether the space is unoccupied because it was overlooked or because it was tried and abandoned.
Kim and Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy is the best-known argument for looking for it. Their Harvard Business Review article of October 2004 describes Cirque du Soleil, which grew revenue 22-fold over ten years by reinventing the circus instead of competing for the existing circus audience. The case is also a reminder of the limit: reviewers note that such success stories deserve closer scrutiny, and an empty space only counts if buyers value what is in it.
In naming, whitespace is usually tonal or lexical rather than a market gap. Every competitor sounds technical, so a warm name stands alone. Every competitor is a single coined word, so a plain two-word name does. The test before taking it is whether any competitor tried that route and backed out, and whether the target buyer finds the tone credible here. A space nobody occupies because buyers distrust it is not whitespace, it is a warning.
Where this sits in the process
The studio treats this as part of a single run rather than a separate service: the category is read, the creative direction is chosen from what the research found, candidates are generated in volume and then cut against criteria that were written down first. See how the studio works for what that produces, or the naming module for the stages themselves.
Related concepts
- Competitive audit: Mapping the names already standing in a category, and why nothing should be generated before it is done.
- Differentiation: Sounding different and being different are separate problems.
- Category convention: Why every sector develops naming tics, what they signal to a buyer, and the cost of following them without deciding to.
Further reading
- What is brand strategy? Why it starts with the name: Brand strategy is the decision about who a brand is for and how it differs. Why the name comes first, and how design, tonality and communication make it recognisable.
Frequently asked questions
What is whitespace in branding?
Whitespace is territory in a category that no competitor currently occupies: a tone, a mechanism or a set of associations nobody has claimed. In naming it is found by reading the category's names and claims systematically.
What is a whitespace analysis?
A whitespace analysis maps what competitors say and how their names sound, then looks for gaps that buyers would value. It is the output of a competitive audit, and its result is a decision about which gap, if any, the brand should take.
Is whitespace always an opportunity?
No. A territory can be empty because nobody noticed it, or because it was tried and abandoned, or because buyers do not value it. The judgement between those cases matters more than the gap itself.
How do you find whitespace in a naming project?
List the competitors' names with their type, tone and claim, then look for combinations that no one uses. Before taking one, check whether a competitor tried it before, and whether the target buyer finds that tone credible in this category.
Sources
- [1]Blue Ocean Strategy (Harvard Business Review, October 2004)— Harvard Business Review, reprinted by OpenCasebook
- [2]Blue Ocean Strategy— Wikipedia