The package.

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Imagine if you went to the grocery store looking to buy your favorite product and each time you visited the package had changed.  Harder to find and buy, no? Then imagine trying to explain to a friend where to buy that product and what to look for. The shelves aren’t alphabetized and product sets are only known and understood by retailers and category captains, so without packaging its not an easy task. If the only descriptors you have for a product are package size, color, name, and feature, e.g., low fat, mesquite flavor, then changing the packaging every week would be an utter marketing fail.

Poor brand management has the same effect. Mixed messages used in ads, promotion, activation, PR, web will confuse people. Think of your brand plan as packaging. Packaging that is harmonious, organized, easy on the eyes and brain, and consistent.

As Laurel Cutler used to preach, “spend money making deposits in the brand bank.” You can live through some withdrawals but it is best to minimize them. Find your brand plan first then Pass Go. Happy August Friday!

Peace in Syria.