THE MARKET

Stephen P Smith
Publisher
Chairman:
The American Brands Council

A great brand is not merely a maker’s mark. It is almost an heraldic symbol, carrying with it a whole web of positive associations. We do well not to underestimate the power of symbols: put them on national flags and people die for them. And if consumers won’t normally go quite that far for a particular brand of soap or sunglasses, they will certainly go to considerable lengths to buy the brand they have come to know and trust.

For the past 25 years I have been privileged to occupy a ringside seat looking directly into many of the world’s great marketing organizations. My media and publishing work in more than 50 countries has brought me into contact with many leading international media companies, and through them with multinational firms boasting some of the biggest and best-known brand names in the world.

These companies have long recognized that their brands are powerful assets, but it is only recently that the true value of these great brands has found its way onto balance sheets. There has been dramatic, worldwide interest in brand values over recent years: a quest to discover exactly what it is that makes brands work, and what their true values are.

Recent surveys indicate that brands may account for 50 to 70 per cent of the total value of the company. In short, they can be worth billions of dollars. Studying the way these brands were started, then developed and maintained is not only a vital activity for anyone interested in the way the modern marketplace functions; it is also fascinating.

This is my fourth book in an international series on branding, and it contains fascinating stories about many of the great brands in America. It offers some intriguing insights into the creation and development of these brand icons with 130,000 words and nearly 500 pictures.

What makes a great brand? What creates the awareness, desirability and power that a truly great brand has? With the help of The American Brands Council and the companies themselves we have compiled the stories of some of America’s, and the world’s greatest brands, and the innovation and prestige that surround them.

In the following pages you will read about “what makes a great brand” by the members of The American Brands Council. The Council is made up of some of America’s most eminent media and communications executives who each have a deep appreciation of what constitutes that rare and so-valuable thing — a truly great brand.


Mr Gene Bartley Chief Executive Officer, Bozell Worldwide "Rather than give you some dry, precise definition of a brand in terms only an adman or woman would love, let's have some fun with this. Let's play a game that gets at the heart of what great brands are really about. I'll mention three things sequentially; you try and guess the brand they bring to mind. "Adventure, the great outdoors and an all-terrain vehicle. You guessed it - Jeep. Fantasy, fun and big ears. Did I hear Disney? If so, you're right on the money. And finally, Coney Island, cotton candy and hot dogs. That's right - Nathan's hot dogs. (How could we talk about American brands without touching on hot dogs?) "When a brand delivers, like the three knockouts above, you don't have to spend a lot of time figuring out how or why. They mean something very specific to anyone who has ever encountered them. They elicit feelings of warmth and confidence, a comfort level that's usually reserved for family or friends. That's what great brands and successful advertising are all about."	Mr Joseph Fisher President and CEO, Burson-Marsteller "A promise kept, simply stated, is what makes a great brand. Brand value doesn't exist in a marketer's plan or a company's portfolio. It exists solely within the minds of consumers or customers. Marketing programs make a promise, but fulfilment resides in the customer's experience. For that reason, great brands can't exist without a fundamental understanding by all those involved of the part they play in delivering on a promise. Great brands are those that enjoy universal internal understanding of a consistent promise and a commitment to always deliver externally. Identify almost any great brand and you will uncover an organization that understands what it takes to deliver on a promise."	Mr Rich Hamilton Chief Executive Officer, Zenith Media Services Inc "Great brands have a life of their own. They are immortal; they stand for something. "They are durable, simple, and elegant in design. They inspire loyalty. People pay more to buy them. Why? Because it's worth it! "Who are they in America? "They are brands like Cheerios, M&M's, Sony, Oreo, Coca-Cola, Ford, Disney and Kellogg's. There are many more. "The companies that own these brands work to protect and indeed build them through innovation in product development, distribution and sales efforts, and all forms of marketing. "Mars, Inc., owner of M&M's, conducted a sweepstakes which let consumers select the next new colour of M&M's. Consumers picked blue! A great example of leadership and consumer-focused marketing from the owner of a true brand icon."
Ms Jennifer Laing Chairman and CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi "Great brands are just like competing products, yet we pay more for them because we have formed an emotional bond with them. Great brands are like good friends, we love them and we trust them. "This place in our heart has been built through the skilful use of traditional media. Today, great brands, just like our friends, stay in touch via targeted messages, voice mail, web sites and e-mail. As we all become harder to reach, brands that fail to exploit new technologies will fall from consciousness. "However, it is uncertain whether new media creates the same feelings of affection, trust and willingness to pay over the odds. Experimen-tation on the web is best matched by exploration of interactive TV, unconventional outdoor and transformational advertising ideas. Innovative use of old media may still prove the most potent when it comes to affairs of the heart."	Mr James McDowell Marketing Director, BMW of North America "A brand is a consumer promise: it is an implied guarantee of having made the right choice. "It promises and embodies a set of consumer expectations about important 'joy of ownership' and uses parameters such as performance, innovation, quality and longevity. "A brand is partly defined by the people who use it and how they use it. The feeling that someone has when they use the product is very important. To the extent that this feeling is different than for competing products, the brand has attained true differentiation. "To stand out in the marketplace, a brand has to stand for something. That means that while almost everyone will recognize and hopefully respect the brand, it probably won't be for everyone. "If you are clever or lucky, a brand elicits passion and emotion. Strong brands often receive the spontaneous endorsement, 'This brand is perfect for a person like me. I wouldn't consider anything else'."	Mr Keith Reinhard Chairman and CEO, DDB Worldwide "The twentieth-century Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset counselled that 'the first act of any society is the selection of a point of view'. And so it is for brands. A great brand is distinguished by a passionately held point of view, from which evolves a relevant and compelling promise - the combination of which is conveyed with a distinctive style and personality. "McDonald's point of view is that eating out is about more than food. It therefore promises a good time every time, always with a style that is warm and human. Volkswagen's point of view is that automotive excellence should be available to everyone. It is therefore expanding its line in order to promise the unique Volkswagen driving experience to people of all economic classes… but always with the same special style that launched the Beetle in 1959. "A well-selected point of view, a compelling promise stated or implied, and a winning personality. These are the key elements of a great brand."
Ms Linda Srere Vice President/ Chairperson, Young & Rubicam, Inc "That's way too big - and important - a question for this little space. But to understand what makes a great brand, I'd go to Y&R's brand definition as a starting point. A brand is a differentiating promise that links a product to its customer. The brand assures the customer of consistent quality plus superior value for which the customer is willing to give loyalty and pay a price that brings reasonable returns to the brand. "Great brands take this relationship to greater heights. They create and inspire loyalty, even passion. Some brand relationships are downright romances. Just think about the way people feel about their Sony Discman or their iMac computer. "The secret? Great brands share two essential characteristics -- differentiation and relevance. You have to be different and distinct to catch the consumer's eye. But you must also figure out what differentiates you and how you're relevant to today's consumers, then communicate that with simplicity and uniqueness. That's what truly makes a great and enduring brand."	Mr John C. Thomas Chairman, Adweek Magazines "In the 1980s, we started a business magazine called MARKETING WEEK and thought we had a great idea and a great brand name that would appeal to an audience far broader and much larger than the discrete audience reached by ADWEEK. "A few years into the mission, it occurred to our editors that marketing was more precisely about 'branding'. MARKETING WEEK became BRANDWEEK and the editorial focus became much clearer as did the appeal of the magazine. "After all is said and done, a brand is only an idea - an implied promise that whatever you are buying or reading or watching or listening to satisfies what is ideal in your mind. A great brand must establish that ideal and the product must deliver it, over and over again."	Mr Bob Tomei Senior Vice President of Marketing, AC Nielsen "A great brand is best defined by the equity and positioning it holds in the marketplace. Brand equity is defined by the price/value relationship it maintains among a specific target audience. Once a brand's equity is established in the market, its positioning and image must reinforce that price/value relationship over and over again. It is critical to maintain a consistent message over time that reinforces those attributes of a brand that consumers value. It is also important to not extend a brand beyond its defined equity and positioning. A great brand must deliver on its stated commitment to responsibly fulfil a specific consumer need or desire. The brand's packaging, promotion, advertising and positioning in the market needs to support that commitment. While it's relatively easy to 'refresh/update' a brand using repackaging or close-in line extensions, the real challenge lies in making it relevant over time to your target consumer."

Copies of the America's Greatest Brands book are available at $69.95 including postage and handling.
This beautiful 175 page "coffee table" publication provides many fascinating insights into the way major brands are created, and how they evolved over the years to become trusted household names.