My consultancy’s mantra is embodied in the statement “Campaign come and go, but a powerful branding idea is indelible.” Powerful brands are built upon powerful brand strategies which are, in turn, supported by creative and colorful demonstrations of that strategy. Powerful brand strategies transcend medium and even language. Good account planners will tell you that a powerful brand strategy becomes acculturated into the company.
For a ski resort, I developed the brand strategy “the best groomed mountain in the Northeast.” Everyone who went to work each day knew what their job was and how to behave. They didn’t need a mupermisor (rhymes with supervisor) over their shoulder every minute when making decisions. They had the strategy.
Did the ski resort’s campaign change? Sure. The website? Yep. Did the cafeteria employees show up to work with messy clothes. Nuh uh.
Do consumers own the brand as some will tell you? Hell no! Do they buy the brand, inform the brand. Sure. But consumers don’t own it. Do brand managers own the brand? Heck no. (Notice the subtle downgrade in passion?) Brand managers come and go, too. The average tenure of a company CMO is 18 or so months. So who does own the brand? The Answer: The owner of the brand strategy. Peace!
PS. Today marks the 3rd anniversary of What’s the Idea? My dad Fred Poppe was an ad man and a writer; sadly, he passed away before blogging became a thing. He would have loved blogging — especially in his later years, while sedentary. To you dad!
