The ABC's Of Branding...

The ultimate goal of any brand is to “own” the minds of consumers when it comes to their product or service. When an athlete is thirsty, Gatorade wants to own that moment in this athlete’s mind. Millions of dollars are spent every day in an effort to achieve this level of brand leadership. Some brands literally define their product no matter what their competitors try.

One day I was making a sandwich in the kitchen and could hear the television in the family room where my young children were watching Sesame Street. It was a lesson on the ABC’s. “A is for apple, B is for boy, C is for cat,” the host rehearsed. My ear pricked up as I later heard, “J is for Jello.” Wait a minute, how did Jello get their brand into the ABC lesson on Sesame street, I thought to myself. Wow, could Jello have surpassed Coke as a brand leader in their market? I think they have… they are without peer.

Many brands have owned their product in the past, only to eventually be undermined by a generic term. ALL jeans used to be referred to as Levis… now they’re just jeans. Kleenex still owns their market in a huge way… sometimes, you will hear people ask for a tissue. But when it comes to owning a product, Jello is the winner in my book. I have never heard a child walk up to their mom and ask for a gelatin dessert… ever!

All gelatin dessert products are Jello… why even try. Could any brand ever equal or surpass this branding achievement? I wonder… at my son’s high school, nearly everyone that has an MP3 player, chooses an iPod. The few that have other brands, Sony, Zune etc., still refer to the device as “their iPod."

I love Apple… they are branding genius in action.