It all started innocently enough. I was performing the Saturday suburban ritual of mowing the lawn. Little did I know the Gods of branding were preparing a wrathful brand-building lesson for me.
PR experts have long preached that a company’s brand is no stronger than its reputation. But there’s a new dimension to reputation maintenance. Now your brand is increasingly dependent on what comes up when customers, reporters and other stakeholders type a company’s name into search engines such as Google.
So, you want to position your product as “fun.” Join the club. There are a million brands and products out there boasting their ability to deliver fun: high-tech gadgets, sports cars, a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers. How do you differentiate your “fun” product from all the rest? You could launch a full-blown attack against its “serious fun-ness.”
So, you’ve finally settled on a brand positioning everyone can agree on. You’ve honed your messages with help from your target audience. You’ve developed a new look-and-feel that really captures who you are and where you want to go.
I’m just in from Memphis, Tennessee, home to three pioneers: Elvis, Sun Studios and Piggly Wiggly. I love Piggly Wiggly. The stores are long past their heyday, but their lasting impression still thrives.