What we stand for

It’s easy to recognize successful brands like the classic international brands shown here. A successful brand really means a successful company. They all have something in common. That common denominator is distinction. These marketers have the inherent ability to distinguish themselves from all their competitors.  And they have the courage and confidence to brush aside the ditto brands and communicate who they are and what they do differently.

In the beginning, though, this distinction may not always be glaringly obvious.  Nor does it always come naturally. After all, what CEO can stand up and instantaneously proclaim three absolutely unique attributes (aside from revolutionary technology) that separate their company from all others?

This is where internal brand discovery, the core component of brand development, comes in.  The seeds of distinction are always there. Maybe they have just been forgotten.  Or perhaps new distinctions have developed without anyone really recognizing them.  Maybe core audiences have been wooed away by competitors, and a brand revitalization is needed.  Often growth through acquisition or management evolution has blurred what was once crystal clear.

But once discovered, or rediscovered, clarified and made deliverable, we can then, and only then, help develop a truly unique brand identity.

We stand for discovering truth.

Our proprietary discovery process uncovers the core truths about your company or organization that make you unique – your Claim of Distinction and the compelling evidence that backs up your claim and makes it credible – around which you can build a communications strategy that can influence choice. The objective: Make certain they choose you.

Brand development is a corporate initiative, not a marketing initiative. We believe that in order for a distinctive brand to the deliverable, it must be discovered and adopted at the very top echelon – the CEO, COO, President, VP of Marketing, etc.  Once the discovery process is completed, and all have shared in the authorship of the brand's unique claim of distinction, only then can tactical branding/marketing initiatives be effectively planned. Brand development is a top-down process – it’s the only way it works.

Brand the company first and foremost

S.C. Johnson (“a family company”) and Marriott are great examples of how branding the company effectively can translate into inferred brand value for its product lines. Focus on discovering and delivering on the company’s Claim of Distinction as a foundation for all tactical strategies.

Be relevant

What counts are the needs, wants, likes and dislikes of the target market – and they’re constantly changing – sometimes subtly, sometimes radically, but always in motion. Nothing is more important than market intelligence, staying close and intimate with them. Look and listen closely and they’ll tell you what’s relevant to them.