Highlights from a new article by my friend, branding guru (I’ll bet he hates that title) Tom Asacker:
Marketers are obsessed with words. They believe that they are in the communication and persuasion business. They incorrectly compare the marketing of products and services in a supersaturated marketplace to marketing a political candidate or making a legal case, where ambivalent people are forced to choose between only two alternatives. This worldview has them fixated on doing things right ―right message, right medium, right slogan, right tagline, et al.―blinding them to the most important marketing question: Are we doing the right things? Message to most marketers (I know, quite ironic): You are not. Don’t take my word for it: Simply take a clear-eyed look at some of todays most successful and talked about brands. What are Nintendo and Harley-Davidson’s slogans? Why doesn’t Apple cover their packaging with persuasive copy? Are Stonyfield Farm’s yogurt customers engaged with its advertising, or with its all natural and organic ingredients? Did Toyota owners buy their vehicles because they wanted to “move forward?” Is that what caused the company to surpass GM in worldwide sales? Puh-lease. I own two Toyotas and I had to reach out to Google to discover that banal slogan. And speaking of Google, where the heck is their tagline anyway?
Read Tom’s whole article here.
As I have often said, “positioning” has never been about a “line,” it has been about a “position.” And a position is about standing for something. And if you stand for something that means you should be doing the right things to support that something.
Because that means you’re real.
And a brand is as real as you and I are.