Many times, no one can predict what will make a brand into a particular success or failure overnight. However, every company can take three common sense steps to protect their brand and the products it represents.
The point of a brand is to create an instantaneous association in peoples minds. The Nike swoosh brings to mind footwear, athleticism, and Michael Jordan. The Toyota bull logo evokes images of compact cars, foreign business competition, and new ways of doing things. The name Budweiser reminds us of everything from the actual beer to those clever talking frogs, and the wassup! advertisements.
These are cases of successful, memorable branding. Michael Jordan is retired from professional sports, the frogs havent been on television in years, and wassup has almost faded from day to day use in the American pop culture vocabulary. However, every one of these elements remains identifiable, and mentioning them to most people will get the typical, oh yeah! response to memories of clever marketing, cementing the image of the brand in the viewers minds.
Branding is the creation of these memories. However, recollections of a product being indisputably linked with a particular name, image, or slogan can be a double-edged sword.
MCI Communications was one of the most successful challengers to the AT&T Bell Monopoly consortium between the late 1960s and early 1980s. MCI managed to push through the breakup of the Bell coalition and allow new players to enter into the field of telecommunications. MCI pioneered many telecommunications innovations, such as Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable, when other companies were content to rely on existing standards. They were one of the first companies to offer the now standard idea of in-network calling, where MCI customers received discounts when calling other MCI customers. MCI was one of the big, significant players in the telecom world, so why isnt their name still synonymous with innovation?
Because it is now synonymous with the words Worldcom, Enron, and scandal.
In 1998, MCI merged with another company to become MCI Worldcom, launching a widespread televised and online advertising campaign featuring notable actors such as Sam Neil of Jurassic Park fame. The MCI brand became inextricably linked with the Worldcom brand. Then, on June 26 2002, the Securities Exchange Commission launched a full inquiry into reported auditing and financial irregularities, resulting in allegations of fraud. By July 21st, less than one month later, it was revealed that Worldcom stock was inflated by $11 billion dollars, and the company entered into chapter 11 bankruptcy. MCI was ultimately bought out by Verizon, and the legacy of a once innovative telecom company was left in the same The point of a brand is to create an instantaneous association in peoples minds. The Nike swoosh brings to mind footwear, athleticism, and Michael Jordan. The Toyota bull logo evokes images of compact cars, foreign business competition, and new ways of doing things. The name Budweiser reminds us of everything from the actual beer to those clever talking frogs, and the wassup! advertisements.
These are cases of successful, memorable branding. Michael Jordan is retired from professional sports, the frogs havent been on television in years, and wassup has almost faded from day to day use in the American pop culture vocabulary. However, every one of these elements remains identifiable, and mentioning them to most people will get the typical, oh yeah! response to memories of clever marketing, cementing the image of the brand in the
repository as Arthur Anderson, Enron, and the other big financial fraud stories of the early 21st century.
While this is an extreme example, it is a caution worth considering for anyone interested in making a brand name for his or her product in todays market. The world is more connected, more informed, and more critical than ever, and while a legacy of good choices can create a strong brand, a reputation for poor or improper decisions can and will conspire to bury a once successful company forever.
Many times, no one can predict what will make a brand into a particular success or failure overnight. However, every company can take three common sense steps to protect their brand and the products it represents.
1. Promote a Quality Product
Quality talks - if a product works, then it has a certain degree of merit that puts it ahead of competition. If a company puts the time and effort to get a quality product onto the market and markets the brand in such a way that the actual qualities are stressed, people will remember.
As an example, Tylenol is an effective painkiller for post-surgical use. It is not a homeopathic remedy relying on word of mouth and supposed benefits, but has demonstrable, measurable effects on human pain and healing.
2. Be Informed About the Brands Use
Knowing not just what one is putting out, but what is being done with it in the market, is crucial to proper branding. To continue with the example of Tylenol, many advertisements stress that doctors frequently prescribe it, more than any other over the counter analgesic. Knowing what doctors were using their product allowed Tylenol to make a powerful claim and keep the information in peoples minds.
3. Be Prepared to Take Responsibility for the Brand
As seen in the MCI case, scandal led to the irrevocable decline of a once-powerful brand. Conversely, Tylenol managed to take what could have been a Related Tags: brandsplat
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