Sterling Terrell

smart ideas from books

Owning A Brand Is Like This

Owning A Brand Is Like This

Owning a brand is different than owning a company.

The latter, you see, is owning an income producing asset. (Well, hopefully, it produces income.)

But the former is owning an identity. You can almost think of a brand as a personality.

I mean, Apple has a personality. So does Disney. And so does Coke. This blog probably has a personality too.

I think that Seth Godin got it right in this little paragraph from his blog post The Elegance Of Nothing:

If Nike announced that they were opening a hotel, you’d have a pretty good guess about what it would be like. But if Hyatt announced that they were going to start making shoes, you would have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what those shoes would be like. That’s because Nike owns a brand and Hyatt simply owns real estate.

Of course, maybe this is unfair to Hyatt.

For I do have a certain expectation when I stay at a Hyatt hotel.

And: I exclusively stay at Hyatt hotels.

Meaning Of Marketing

Meaning Of Marketing

The meaning of marketing – when it comes down to it – is about branding.

There are, of course, the cliche four P’s of marketing:

  1. Product – What are you developing?
  2. Price – What does the price convey?
  3. Place – Where is this best talked about?
  4. Promotion – How should this be communicated?

But it’s all hard to put a finger on exactly.

Because marketing, this branding battle, is about mental positioning in the mind of the customer.

It’s about psychology, if you want to know the truth.

Remember: Simple concepts are persuasive. And so is repetition.

Here are all 31 persuasive tips.

But see, there is also meaning in marketing, in how we are identifying ourselves and out products in the lives of our customers.

Allowing buyers to join a group, assume an aspirational identity, or support a deep conviction can be powerful marketing tools too.

People want to be involved in a story that is larger than themselves. Brands that give customers a voice in a larger narrative add value to their products by giving their customers a deeper sense of meaning.

-Donald Miller, Building A StoryBrand