MBA Boot Camp: Brand Strategy (5.1)
Concepts & Vocabulary
Brand: A brand is the sum total of the "gut feeling" a person has about a product, service, or organization.
Brand Equity: The commercial value that derives from consumer perception of the brand name, rather than from the product itself.
Brand Promise: The core expectation that you guarantee to your customers every single time they interact with you.
Core Lesson: The Power of the Intangible
Why can plain white t-shirt cost $10 at Target and $350 at a Gucci store? The cotton is relatively similar. The difference is Brand Equity.
Brand equity is a highly valuable financial asset. In fact, when one company buys another, they often pay billions of dollars above the value of the physical assets (buildings, inventory) just to own the brand name.
Building a brand requires ruthless consistency. Every touchpoint—from the way the website is designed, to the tone of voice in an email, to how customer service handles a complaint—must align with the Brand Promise.
Volvo's Promise: Safety.
Disney's Promise: Magical family entertainment.
FedEx's Promise: It will absolutely, positively be there overnight.
The MBA Insight: Amateurs change their brand messaging constantly because they get bored. Professionals stick to the same core brand message for decades. By the time you (the marketer) are incredibly sick of your own brand message, the consumer is just barely starting to remember it.
Application & Reflection
The brand I developed for the Lodi Public Library positioned the library as a vibrant community hub. The library would be a place to meet with people, get great service, find a dynamic range of materials, and discover fun programs. It would also be unlike the other libraries. There would be more prizes. There would be events you couldn’t find elsewhere and materials you couldn’t find elsewhere. And there would be a creative staff guiding you through it all.
