Risk & Business Magazine Branch Benefits Consultants Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 8

BRANDING
New Heights In Marketing!
Something New!
Elevating Your Company Beyond The Brand
B
randing is a word that has been
marginalized by its misuse
and abuse by the public. It’s
not their fault. Branding has
changed over the years. The
immortal power of the brand is much more
powerful. Why? The World Wide Web
amplified everything.
When brands like Dove convinced women
that it was a soft cleansing cream, not a
harsh bar of soap, the world of marketing
and branding was never the same. Once
the Rolls Royce and its quiet luxurious ride
took the automobile from transporting
people to providing an unforgettable
experience, the industry evolved. Your
company can take the same leap that these
once obscure brands took. It was a brave
move for them to be different from their
competitors. It took courage for these
products to distinguish themselves from
everyone else in the industry and stand
alone on a pedestal, loudly proclaiming
that they were the best.
How would you like to stand out?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your customers
decide that your brand is the only one for
them? David Ogilvy, the genius behind
providing the message for both Dove and
Rolls Royce, defined branding as “the
intangible sum of a product’s attributes:
its name, packaging, and price; its history,
its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.”
The key word is “intangible.”
Myspace was once the social media
platform of choice for young people
in America. Today Snapchat has been
embraced by the next generation. Why?
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Myspace forgot to maintain its relationship
with its original audience. The brand
became complacent. Today Amazon has
figured out how to flip the retail industry
upside down. It searched for new heights
to elevate its brand from just being known
for selling books to providing everything
under the sun. Walmart and other retail
stores are taking notice that Amazon is
on the scene. Small businesses need to
take notes from Amazon and Snapchat.
Both brands took on saturated industries
and not only competed but defeated
known giants in retail and social media,
respectively. How? They elevated to new
heights, unknown by their competitors.
The burning question for small business
owners is, how can I reach new heights in
branding? How can I do something new?
How can I elevate my company beyond
the brand? First, your company has to
determine its “intangible sum” as defined
by David Ogilvy. Rolls Royce pushed
the envelope of luxury automobiles by
defining its own space in the market. Dove
changed the definition of soap by moving
to an atmosphere of