Creationism Versus Evolution: A Branding Debate

By: Jerry Rackley

At the risk of being polarizing, I’d like to start a debate about Creationism versus Evolution. Before anyone starts loading up their theological or philosophical guns, let me put this debate in context: my interest is in branding, not the origins of mankind.

I’m a firm believer in brand creationism. By that, I mean that the building of strong brands doesn’t occur through some evolutionary process. Strong brands are the products of intelligent design, planning, care and nurturing. Consider this list from Fortune of the world’s most admired companies:

1. Apple
2. Google
3. Amazon.com
4. Coca-Cola
5. Starbucks
6. IBM
7. Southwest
8. Berkshire Hathaway
9. Walt Disney
10. FedEx

These are all strong brands we admire. Those of us who help manage a brand aspire to have the awareness, reach and reputation that these brands enjoy. And none of them just accidentally crawled out of the primordial branding slime onto this list. They all got there the same way: by consistently delivering on their brand promise.

Companies that don’t benefit from a strong brand must ask themselves how to achieve brand greatness, and the benefits that come with it:

• The ability to set premium pricing
• Greater customer loyalty
• A bigger share of the customer’s wallet
• Lower new customer acquisition costs

In a recent post to his blog, “You Don’t Have a Brand”, Marc Simony, holistic brand thinker, made this observation: companies are not brand owners; they are brand stewards. Marc has it right – the customer is the final arbiter of the worth and value of a brand. They own the brand, we just take care of it for them.

What can you do to strengthen your brand? Here are some steps to get started:

1. Assess the current state of your brand. Use the Demand Metric Brand Assessment Tool to see how your brand fares in four ratings categories: Strategy, Alignment, Communication and Execution.
2. Get the customers’ perspective on your brand. Use the Demand Metric Brand Perception Survey to learn how those who own your brand perceive it.
3. Understand how brand loyalty develops. Read the Demand Metric How-to Guide, “The Brand Loyalty Advantage”.
4. Take what you’ve learned and put a plan in place to grow a stronger brand. The Demand Metric Brand Strategy Scorecard will let you document your plan and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your brand.

A strong brand is perhaps the most sustainable competitive advantage. Your brand merits time, attention and investment in growing it.