Evidently, one thing seems to have more value in direct proportion to whether or not we feel we have the freedoms, joys or conveniences of that thing.
So it comes down to scarcity, one product or service having qualities you won’t find everywhere or ideally, anywhere. It’s the job of every brand to seek that out as their standard, their stamp.
Look at every ‘revolutionary’ brand or category killer, it had an app, or a feature, or a functionality, or a user experience nobody else at that point could offer. I refer to this as ‘the Killer App’ principle.
The opposite of value is a commodity item with little or no perceived value — which means people are not seeking it out and when they do, it’s merely one of the many choices (so very likely the cheapest offering will get the sale).
Launching a brand is not for those with thin skin. It takes courage, intelligence and foresight.
Every great brand goes back to a courageous individual who dared to say ‘NO’ to the status quo.
Social media isn’t a brand strategy. Social media is a channel. While it’s important for a brand to develop something to say, it’s more important to create something that will be heard.
History is filled with inferior brands outselling superior ones thanks to better branding. Only superior branding has the power to overcome and reverse this (and superior products and services deserve superior branding).
If your brand is a cliché, your brand is losing sales and growth. Why? If your brand is using clichés to promote itself, you’re promoting your “category,” not your unique, individual brand. Painful? Yes. Solvable? Absolutely.
Brand growth and dominance is created by having the highest brand value, not the lowest price tag.
We’ve all seen it. A #startup begins with a #dream, a #passion to do something others have missed or overlooked.
Consumers today have become a cynical mob of buyers who believe the reviews and ratings of complete strangers much more readily than your brand’s promises and distinctions.
When it comes to branding and the ever-changing social media phenomenon, you’re not a mushroom. In other words, you shouldn’t be kept in the dark and fed a pile of…well, you get the idea.
Why do some brands grow explosively when others (that could be thriving) die a lonely and forgettable death?
A great sports car that goes from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds is just a fact. To the wrong audience, it’s irrelevant. But to the right audience, it’s a passion.
Who are we, and how do we relate this idea in a way that’s meaningful to our customers and the values they hold dear?In other words, one must define something meaningful. To do that, one must identify to whom this must be meaningful.
The biggest mistake brands make are trying to “sell their stuff” rather than clarifying what people are actually buying.
It becomes a question of ‘How do we convey our differentiation instantaneously?’ and drive a wedge between any apparent (or assumed) sameness in the marketplace.
There are three points I used to help a gourmet chocolatier increase sales 300% in a single month as well as a Midwest city to increase tourism guests 500% in 12 months.
And while a brand is so much more than a company’s logo, the logo is one of the key ambassadors to any brand.