Branding on Paper, On Air and On Screen
The three most important questions in business
In business, this is what matters most:
- Are you really different?
- How?
- Who else knows it?
To succeed in business, follow the first rule of marketing – make the choice clear.
Marketing and PR are not a gumball machine. You don't put in a dime and take out a treat. Marketing is a process, not an event.
Why is success so hard to achieve? Hint: You're not alone.
The hard truth is that everyone's got something to sell. Sometimes it's a product, sometimes a service. Not often enough it's something else: a unique idea.
Apple computers have it. So do Southwest Airlines and Ralph Lauren. As do Harley-Davidson and the Swiss Army Knife.
Dell and Sony computers don't have it so much. Neither does American Airlines or Yamaha motorcycles or Gerber knives, even though they all offer quality.
It's called a brand, and it's that magic ingredient that makes people not just think differently but act with devotion.
A brand is simply a claim of distinction with emotional impact, a clear choice that means something to people.
The difference between ice cream and Haagen-Daz
The average American receives more than 3,000 messages each day. How often are the words ice cream buried in those messages? How do you respond to those words? In contrast, how do you respond to the words Ben & Jerry's or Haagen-Daz?
In marketing, a strong brand seduces through precise market positioning and communications of a specific idea.
That distinctive idea has to be repeated everywhere: on Web sites, in brochures, in press releases, and even on pens bearing the company logo. Every symbol of the company and its products and services has to support the same clear, immutable message: we're different.
