Put A Stake In The Ground

"It is often difficult to protect a brand from the cancer of political correctness. When ad agencies return print ads and commercials that look like advertisements for the United Nations we weaken our ability to influence the target audience we covet. Putting a stake in the ground means having clarity and purpose. Branding has no place for moral dogma — it must be about simple effectiveness. The more internal constituencies a brand has, the more apt it is to dilute its message with multiple agendas. Nowhere is this more readily apparent then in destinations and tourism. Rather than speak the brand essence with clarity and conviction, such jumbled brands attempt to be everything to everyone and in the end, become nothing to no one.

The Only Solution

The antidote to this quagmire is always the voice of the customer. Market research, the kind of research that lays bare the preceptive fabric of the customer, is nearly impossible to ignore. When the beliefs of the customer are brought into the brand and marketing equation and when brand managers are empowered and informed the resulting brand is dynamic and effective.

It is well to remember that the only reason to invest in a share-stealing brand is to win. Self-aggrandizement and political correctness are only for brands that don’t care about winning or are the result of a political agenda. The rules for a brand to steal market share are quite simple:

The Four Rules To Remember

1.Know your customer. Not only their habits and attitudes but also their beliefs and values. You must know what they believe to be true about their lives and the rules that they follow.

2.Speak with clarity. Communications without purpose is at its best unproductive and at its worse destructive. Eliminate superfluous messaging and solute no political agenda. The goal is to change a behavior, not punish one.

3.Identify you customers. Allow them to see themselves in your brand. This is easier to see in consumer brands. But, If your business is B-to-B, imagine the company as an individual personality and address their own self-description. Companies have the same tendencies as individuals and the brand that best understands them is in a position to win.