1. “Like human beings,
all brands are born equal.
The trick is to prove
one isn’t. Branding is the
art and science of
identifying and fulfilling
human physical
and emotional needs by
capturing attention,
imagination and emotion
long enough to make
money from it.”
– Idris Mootee
1 2

2. Copyright © 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009
Idris Mootee
All rights reserved. Published by
Idea Couture Inc. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photo-
copying, scanning, or otherwise, except as
permitted under Section 107, 108 of the
1976 United States Copyright Act, without
either the prior written permission of
the Publisher. Request to the Publisher
for permission should be addressed
to the Permission Department at
permission@ideacouture.com.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty:
While the publisher and author have
used their best efforts in preparing this
book, they make no representations
or warranties with respect to the accuracy
or completeness of the contents of this
book and specifically disclaim any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness
for a particular purpose. The advice and
strategies contained herein may not
be suitable for your situation. You should
consult with a professional where
appropriate. Neither the publisher nor
author shall be liable for any loss of
profit or any commercial damages, including
but not limited to special, incidental,
consequential, or other damages.
A number of brand names and trademarks
are mentioned and used in this book
are protected under copyright laws and
international treaty provisions. All
trademarks, services marks, trade names,
logos and icons are proprietary to their
respective owner. Their inclusion in this
book is for the purpose of criticism
and illustration only.
60-Minute Brand Strategist –
Limited Edition
Book and cover design:
Sali Tabacchi
3 1

3. Contents:
Introduction 4
All About Brands 7
Branding in a Postmodern Culture 39
Strategic Perspectives of Branding 49
Managing Brand Meaning 79
Brand Leadership 119
Luxury Brand Marketing 133
2 3

4. IntroductIon
This book is about only one thing: brands,
branding and the only sustainable form of
leadership in an economy ruled by ideas –
brand innovation and leadership.
Its been 8 years since 60-minute Brand
Strategist was first published as a book.
Adapted from slides I used in my Advanced
Branding Seminar, the first edition was
translated and published in several languages,
including Japanese, Chinese and German.
Dr. Morgan Gerard collaborates with me to
develop this limited edition, updated
and abridged version by popular demand.
We decided to select a few of the book’s
chapters that deliver the essence of the
concepts. These concepts and techniques
are used by the world’s most successful
and valuable brands. But you’ll rarely, if ever,
read much about these concepts in
business magazines. Why? Simply put,
they’re trade secrets. Well-wielded
branding tools and techniques are powerful,
competitive weapons used to win the
hearts and minds of customers. Time and
again, they help defeat the competition.
Consider what follows a battle plan designed
to inspire, act as a reminder, function as
a tool kit and be drawn upon as a reference
that should sit on every marketing and
brand executive’s desk.
Idris Mootee, CEO
Idea Couture Inc.
4 5

5. all about
brands
6 7

6. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
What Is a brand?
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
In a world where brands rule, products YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
are no longer bundles of functional
characteristics but rather means to provide
and enhance customer experiences.
Thanks to the internet and wireless tech- I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
nologies, information is so abundant
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
that consumers are overloaded. They have
more information than they can digest,
use, need or even want.
Product proliferation creates so many
I I I I I I I I I I I I
choices that it diminishes our ability to LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
differentiate or choose what we truly value. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
Brands help us choose. They are invaluable
tools that help us break through clutter to
make choices based on our experience of
I I I I I I I I I I I I
and satisfaction with products or services.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
8 9
I I I I I I I I I I I I
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

7. VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I YOU I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU ME YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
10 11
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

8. VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
There will be a
“
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
time using a
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
logo will be the
“In technocratic and colorless
worst thing
I I I I I I I I I
times, brands bring warmth,
YOU
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
LOVE ME, familiarity and trust.”
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
TOO
in the world.”
– Peter Brabeck, Nestle
I I I I I I I I I I I I
– Bill Bernbach,
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
Founder DDB
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
We’re a long long way from that day.
The truth is that people like brands. They
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE not only simplify choices and guarantee
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
quality, but they also add fun and interest,
provide aspirations and dreams. Some
people love them like children, which might
explain why I personally know of a 4-year
I I I I I I I I I I I I
old boy named Nike, an 8-year old named
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
Ferrari and a 12-year old girl named Hermès.
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
LOGO
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU
12 13
I I I I I I I I I I I I
VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

9. a brand Is not… a brand Is…
A TRADE MARk POINT OF VIEW
(These are legal properties.) Branding is a strategic point of view, not
a select set of marketing activities.
A MISSION STATEMENT
(This is a reminder.) CUSTOMER VALUE
Branding is central to creating customer
A LOGO OR SLOGAN value, not just sound bites and images.
(These are your signatures.)
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
A PRODUCT OR SERVICE Branding is a key tool for creating and
(These are just the tangibles.) sustaining competitive advantages.
ADVERTISING ENGINEERED
(They deliver your messages.) Brand strategies must be “engineered” into
the strategic planning process.
ALIVE
Brands get their identity from meanings.
Products and services are the blood
of a brand. Your organizational culture and
standards for action are the heartbeat.
LOGIC AND EMOTION
Branding is part science and part art.
ITEM WORkING ITEM WORkING
IN ISOLATION IN ISOLATION
A BRAND
IS MORE THAN
THE SUM
OF ITS PARTS.
ITEM WORkING ITEM WORkING
IN ISOLATION IN ISOLATION
14 15

10. BRANDS
HAVE ALMOST
BECOME
IDEOLOGIES.
16 17

11. “The art of marketing
is the art of brand
building. If you are not
a brand, you are a
commodity. Then price
is everything and
the low-cost producer
is the only winner.”
– Philip kotler,
kellogg
18 19

12. To plan for one year,
What Is a brand?
grow sales.
“A brand is the ‘personification of a product,
service, or even entire company.’
Like any person, a brand has a physical
To plan for three years,
‘body’: in P&G’s case, the products and/or
services it provides. Also, like a person, a
brand has a name, a personality, character
grow channel.
and a reputation.
Like a person, you can respect, like
and even love a brand. You can think of it
To plan for decades,
as a deep personal friend, or merely an
acquaintance. You can view it as dependable
grow a brand.
or undependable; principled or
opportunistic; caring or capricious. Just as
you like to be around certain people and
not others, so also do you like to be with
certain brands and not others.
Also, like a person, a brand must mature
and change its product over time. But
its character, and core beliefs shouldn’t
change. Neither should its fundamental
personality and outlook on life.
People have character…so do brands.
A person's character flows from his/her
integrity: the ability to deliver under pressure,
the willingness to do what is right rather
than what is expedient. You judge a person’s
character by his/her past performance
and the way he/she thinks and acts in both
good times, and especially bad.
The same are true of brands.”
– Robert Blanchard,
former P&G executive
BRAND
CHANNEL
SALES
VALUE
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
YEARS
20 21

13. 1. 2. the customer
satIsfactIon
What is the What is our core treadmIll
deep need that competence? Daniel kahneman of Princeton describes
the Customer Satisfaction Treadmill.
we satisfy? What are we
The more we make, the more we spend,
the more we want. The faster we get it,
the faster we want it. The more convenient
What is our really good at? it becomes, the more we realize just
how convenient it could be. The more
raison d’être? our unreasonable demands are met,
the more unreasonable they become.
METAPHYSICAL NEEDS
EXPERIENTAL NEEDS
SYMBOLIC NEEDS
FUNCTIONAL NEEDS
22 23

14. brand In a world predisposed to sameness, there
are few things in life more satisfying than
taxonomIes
building brands that disrupt predisposition.
Brands move market share. Brands move
advertising award judges. Brands move
culture. Some do all.
Brand has meaning beyond functionality
that exists in people's minds. Part art,
part science, brand is the difference between
a bottle of soda and a bottle of Coke, a
computer and an iMac, a cup of coffee and
a cup of Starbucks, a car and a Mercedes,
a designer’s hand bag and a Hermès Birkin.
Brand is the intangible yet visceral impact
of a person's subjective experience with the
product, the personal memories and cultural
associations that orbit around it. Brands
are also about messages – strong, exciting,
distinct, authentic messages that tell
people who you are, what you think and
why you do what you do.
BRANDS THAT
FOCUS ON THEIR MEANINGS
AND VALUES
RATHER THAN FUNCTIONS.
BRANDS THAT
BRANDS THAT
HAVE ALMOST BECOME
ARE TIGHTLY IDENTIFIED
PRODUCT
PRODUCT-
WITH THE PRODUCT
INDEPENDENT
OR RANGE OF PRODUCTS
BRANDS THAT FOCUS
LARGELY ON
THEIR CORE FUNCTIONS
AND PURPOSES
24 25

15. too much the most common
advertIsIng WIth too Issues WIth brandIng
lIttle meanIng?
Cannot justify
the cost for brand
re-positioning.
Where’s the ROI? Management does
CUSTOMER VALUE not understand
why we need to have
BRAND MEANING a brand strategy.
BRAND ADVERTISING
CUSTOMER VALUE
BRAND MEANING
BRAND ADVERTISING
Management thinks
branding is just
another logo with a Sales and marketing
new tag line. aren’t reading the
same book, let alone
the same page.
Brand vision and
company reality do
not match.
26 27

16. Why brands are In What Is a brand?
trouble?
Don’t make the mistake of letting
brand image take over and become brand
identity. It’s only part of the equation,
not the answer.
BRANDS ARE BEING BRANDS STRUGGLE
MASS-PRODUCED TO FIND THEIR
IN BRAND FACTORIES OWN IDENTITIES
There’s a movement of Too many me-too
conservatism in brands and too
brand investment. Many much me-too advertising.
have gone from inspirational Many brands
and daring to cautionary have lost their souls.
CORPORATE INTERNAL
and risk averse.
STRATEGY BRANDING
Everyone is looking for
a save formula.
brand strategy
BRAND
IMAGE BRAND CUSTOMER
IDENTITY ENGAGEMENT
BRANDS HAVE LOST BRANDS ARE WORN
THEIR MYSTIqUE FROM OVERUSE
Consumers understand As brand manuals gets
how marketing works thicker and heavier,
and they are brand savvy. you know you’re in trouble.
BRAND
Be careful not to Instructional menus ATTRIBUTES
over-market a brand. replace imagination.
BRAND
ASSOCIATIONS
28 29

17. What is a Brand? What Is a brand?
The trust-based, value-producing
Today you may have a name and a
A brand is an intangible asset that resides in
relationship called a brand is proof that the
trademark, but it will take time (and much
people’s hearts and minds. It’s defined by
company is organizationally aligned to
more) before you have a brand. Brand
the expectations people have about tangible
repeat the process and sustain the values.
building is the creation and management of
and intangible benefits that are developed
Find and establish your niche. Clarify your
inward cash flow with brand equity as the
over time by communications and, more
distinct ability to make an impact.
savings account. Managing brand is about
importantly, by actions! To build a successful
Determine the desired relationship
how marketers and consumers collaborate
brand means doing the following four things:
between your customers/prospects and
to create meanings. Brand building is not an
1. MAkIng A proMIse your product.
option. roI is only relevant when considering
2. CoMMunICATIng your proMIse Create intangible, emotional bonds
alternative marketing programs. Brand
3. keepIng your proMIse
through every customer interaction.
equity is a big elephant: looking at financial
4. sTrengThenIng your proMIse
Like people, brand requires a name, a
returns alone is unacceptable. you must
personality, a character and a reputation.
understand the whole beast.
The tangible aspect of your brand is a
Brand management is a crucial element
promise. What do you do best? What’s the
of corporate strategy rather than solely
payoff? What can your consumer count
a marketing function. It helps a company
on? This promise becomes an intrinsic part
break away from the pack in creating
of your marketing message. In order
shareholder value. Brand strategy is the
for you to own it, you must communicate
viable expression of business strategy.
strategically and creatively across a
broad media mix. Both your internal and
external audiences must be true believers
of the promise. And the only way to
make them truly believe is to be true about
the promise.
1. MAkING A PROMISE
2. COMMUNICATING YOUR PROMISE
BRAND STRATEGY CORPORATE STRATEGY
3. kEEPING YOUR PROMISE
4. STRENGTHENING YOUR PROMISE
30 31

18. mInd over matter Advantages built on emotional values and
brand meanings (e.g. Levis, Nike, Starbucks,
Coca-Cola, Harley-Davison, Apple, Sony)
Psychological differences may seem
are often the most durable.
insubstantial, but in terms of sustainability,
they are often more resilient than
functional differences.
Intangible emotional associations are
difficult to copy:
Once an emotional territory
is occupied by a well known
brand, it is more difficult
to displace than a brand with
a functional claim.
PERSONALITY TRUST
TIMELESS UNIqUE
32 33

19. products vs.
brands
A product is built
A brand is built of trust
in a factory.
and relationships
A product is an object.
A brand is a personality.
A product is sold by
A brand is bought by
a merchant.
a customer.
A product is easily copied
A brand is unique.
by a competitor.
A great brand is timeless.
A product is quickly
outdated.
34 35

20. mInd over matter buIldIng strong
brands
Without the brand, Apple would have
been dead. The power of the brand kept Branding is often confused with an
them alive during the mid-1990s when advertising campaign or a corporate identity.
their products were lackluster. The brand Companies are still turning to branding
bought them time until they came out as a panacea. Equally problematic are the
with the next runaway hit – the iMac. self-proclaimed branding experts happy
For Apple, the brand is always bigger than to sell you pricey snake oil. In novice hands,
the product. It is an ideology, a value set. branding becomes a way to obfuscate
Apple is about imagination, innovation and relative sameness or make promises that
individualism. can’t be fulfilled, instead of communicating
It’s not just about advertising or visual relevant uniqueness and building trust
identity. Brands must be built 360 degrees. and credibility.
Branding means that collateral information,
meaning, association and value has been
spiced into the very DNA of the brand. This
has two core components: label and fable.
Label refers to all visual elements, packaging
and taglines. Fables are the extrinsic aspect
of branding attached from the outside
and most often from customer experiences,
advertising, corporate trust and customer
relationships. The brand is the totality of what
the customer experiences: the look and
feel of your office, your community reputation,
your awning and signage, your sales and
customer service people, the way you handle
business conflicts and customer complaints.
INNOVATION
Three key requirements for
building strong brands:
IMAGINATION
1. Trust between brand and
consumer
2. Common identity between
brand and consumer
3. Point of difference between
brands in a set
INDIVIDUALISM
36 37

21. brandIng
In a
postmodern
culture
38 39

22. brandIng In the age transformatIon
of brand Is a process,
transformatIon a performance
Brands are transforming themselves. As content is increasingly delivered via To make the story of a brand complete
Beyond mere ads and products, they are personalized and self-scheduled social webs, and meaningful, it requires that all of
finding new ways to get inside your viewers – not broadcasters – will decide the actors – customers and companies alike
home and be a part of your life as branded when, how, why and what is consumed. – successfully complete transitions from
content, branded entertainment, branded And they will dictate who they share that scene to scene and stage to stage. In today’s
utilities and branded space. L’Equipe, the consumption with. script, those transitions read like this:
Parisian based daily sports newspaper, The question is, What role should brand
invented the Tour de France for one simple play in this age of transformation?
reason: to sell more newspapers, branded
content with a pinch of engagement.
But customers are transforming brands,
too. New cultural modes of performance
are emerging from new network-based social
behaviors and conversations. With over
50 million people able to share ideas, opinions
and experiences in a single online space
– and generate billions of web page
impressions every month – these behaviors
Interruption is the stage Intrusion is the stage Engagement is the curtain call of this
and conversations are creating a seismic
where old scripts get between what was and what performance. A celebration of the
shift in the traditional balance of power that
shredded, rules get tossed will be. A wild zone of new new reality and the ideas and rituals
once existed between customers and
out the window and the ideas and new rituals, it is alive that brought it to life, brands that
companies.
paradigms we lived by with uncertainty, excitement will occupy centre stage are those
are revealed as obsolete. and expectation. This gestative that contribute the new ideas, help
facilitate the new rituals, meet the new
The Internet is our Inter- space where customers and
needs and, ultimately, tell the best
ruption. It has forever companies create and explore
stories. Those who ignore this new
ruptured the old system brand futures is where we
reality do so at their own peril.
of brand control and are right now.
communication.
INTERRUPTION INTRUSION ENGAGEMENT
40 41

23. dIstrIbutIon Is nothIng content Is everythIng
When distribution is trivial, unlimited and Great content – the kind that truly engages
available to all, marketing to a captive – helps customers tell a story, perform
audience sitting on a couch in front of a box a part of their life, communicate meaning to
is a thing of the past. In fact, this kind of others and be all that they can be. It is,
old-world marketing has become adversarial quite simply, cultural.
to customers. Having adapted to the In the past, the clearest demonstration of
media-fragmented and always-on new content (and brands) as cultural was in
reality, they seek value by searching, the subculture. Punks, mods, ravers, skaters,
discovering and sharing their very personal church-goers, artists, bikers and others
brand caches with peers – not waiting made commodities come to life through
for you to interrupt them with unwanted performances like no other consumers
messaging. on earth. Today, because of the scope and
Broadcasting is in trouble, and user- reach of social media, we are in an age of
generated videos are just the beginning. the post-subcultural. The Hipster, a mash-up
The social-casting of YouTube will of subcultural traditions, has become the
evolve and, in the process, so too will emblem of insider-ness made accessible to
consumer behavior. Instead of passivity, all with the Internet.
the experience flow of tomorrow will Just as subculturalists were the creative
be characterized by immediacy, flexibility, class of brand dissemination, modification,
portability, permeability, fluidity, alteration and transformation, so now are
interactivity, mashability and ownerability. the millions of people around the world who,
With the emergence and convergence through social media, have access to insider
of the mobile phone, the Internet and knowledges, practices, experiences,
location-based-systems, consumers also performances and collaborative communities.
have immediate access to co-workers, This occurs through YouTube, Flickr,
friends and family members. Between Twitter, Facebook and the thousands of online
CONTENT
getting used to and being born into advice, support, co-creation and retail
a connected age, they are naturally and portals. The relentless virtualization of social
increasingly drawing on participation life, the marketing of niche-interactions,
in various networks for information, the sharing of experiences and the out-
assistance, support and recommendations. sourcing of work means that less and less of
Creating great products, services and our daily lives are produced and consumed
content is paramount. Content? Yes, at home. Rather, we are performing
content. An integral part of any product or ourselves more in public, more collabor-
service and their related experiences, atively and more than every through
customers will consume only what’s relevant the kinds of very social networks that once
to them, what best serves them, and what existed solely in subcultures.
truly entertains them – not what is marketed
to them by you through repetition. Engaging
them will require branded experiences
rich in content that strengthen contextual
involvement and consumer connection.
Within such experiences, the density and
intensity of polysemic, multi-origin,
co-created and fragmented communication
will make Baudrillard’s hyper-reality seem
as antiquated as TV.
42 43

24. the personal brand What Is the problem?
“We spent eight
In the age of the Personal Brand, Many companies are simply not ready to
“We hired a brand consultant
commoditization is permeating every aspect deal with or anticipate identity obsolescence
and developed a great
of daily life. Style, taste, identity and like they anticipate the obsolescence of
months and a
brand strategy. Our ad
individuality have become central to what products or business models. Despite the
agency went on to create
we expect from our experiences in best efforts of management teams, many
and produce an ad
lot of money on
health care, learning, dating, news, clothing, can’t adapt to shifts in the competitive
campaign that far exceeded
food, travel, home furnishings, com- environment because the required brand-
our capability to deliver
a brand strategy
munication, sports, entertainment, sexuality, driven adaptive response is inconsistent
the brand promise. We
spirituality, birth, marriage, babies and with the company’s core identity. Any brand
ended up with disappointed
and all that’s
burials. Twenty years ago, in the social exercise will only widen the gap between
customers, internal
mainstream, this wasn’t the case. Sub- the brand and the corporate core identity.
conflicts and brand credibility
changed is the
culturalists were particularly picky about erosion.”
their purchases, but the average
– CEO, Telco
logo and tagline.”
consumer had a less refined sense of
assembling their self through products
and services.
Today, instant communication has
– CEO, Financial Services Company
blown the doors clear off of the old-world
media and advertising industry. Taste
gurus, micro-brands, blogs, chatters,
Friends, Tweeters, citizen journalists and
the searchability of style have forever
changed the how, what, where, when
and why of consumption. In the new
free-for-all of ideas, opinions, reviews and
experiences, individuals with greater
access to information strive to define and
display their Personal Brand, niche is
the norm, cool is hyper-commoditized and
branding becomes as much a bottom-up
phenomenon for customers as a top-down
priority for companies
Brands
One result is that we have become
desperate to socialize the profane. Distracted
by the pace of change, unfulfilled in our
personal lives and feeling disempowered by
our work, many of us turn to celebrities,
rock stars, designers and brands to cultivate
more meaning in life. But when work is
empowering and life is meaningful, interest
and engagement in high-consumption
lifestyles will wane. De-marketing will happen.
“I want to be cool.”
Until then, a brand’s role is to help to
create meanings in everyday life through
commodities.
Consumers
44 45

25. savIng your can socIal medIa
Many B-school case studies have chronicled
brands brought back from the dead. But
ZombIe brands save the
for every success, there are hundreds of
ZombIe brands?
failures: companies that tried to revitalize
Zombie Brands, Dinosaurs Brands, Ghost
old brands by hiring new agencies and
Brands or Graveyard Brands are what The Social Media Generation has
throwing endless amounts of money into
people used to call brands that customers phenomenal influence over the fate of
advertising in hopes of rebuilding, even
have either completely abandoned or brands. Active, mobile and vocal,
when there wasn't a relevant product, service
that are simply hanging on by a thread, they share the joys, angers and frustrations
or sound strategy behind the initial move.
usually at a Dollar Store or at Costco of their daily experiences with anybody
How bad is your situation? Here are the three
in a totally unrelated product category. and everybody. In doing so, their digital
most common scenarios:
Some have gone through unsuccessful connectivity becomes the web that weaves
revitalization efforts, others exist only in Brand Communities. Separated by
emerging markets, a few have simply their geography but bound by their love
My brand is sick.
lost relevance in their core market place of a particular brand, citizens of these
(Xerox, Oldsmobile) to be used casually communities can be identified by four
on products totally outside their product core markers:
Market changes direction and the brand
category (Teac, RCA, Polaroid etc.). become irrelevant. Everyone (advertising,
• Shared intereStS
product design, promotions) used to • Shared valueS
If you happen to own a Zombie Brand, understand what the brand means and they • Shared ritualS
what can you do? all stick to it, believing it connects to • Shared purpoSeS
something larger and more enduring. But
1. INVEST AND ATTEMPT TO REVITALIZE IT
one day they woke up and realized there The commercial, mass‐mediated ethos in
2. MILk IT
was a big disconnect. Your brand is stuck in which Brand Communities are situated
3. POSITION IT FOR THE EMERGING MARkET
the past. YOUR BRAND IS IRREVELANT. affects their character and structure and
4. SELL IT FOR WHATEVER IT’S WORTH
5. DUMP IT gives rise to their particularities. From a
brand and marketing perspective, this is the
My brand is
Consumers with special relationships to most disruptive trend. It means that
Zombie Brands often have sentimental Social Media, not advertising, has become
dying.
reasons for continuing to make purchases the conduit for communication and that
or for giving them a second chance. But customers are the collective source of truth
the cost and risk of bringing a brand back for brands. Given the right new content,
to life is enormous. If this is your choice, The brand is becoming boring. It doesn’t the Brand Community is a possible cure for
make sure the decision to do so is based create excitement for customers or even the Zombie Brand.
on sound logic. If you run a large portfolio, employees anymore. Younger consumers
the questions will be: Which brands are think of it as their parents’ brand. This
worth the revital