New Strategies on Brand Building - Al & Laura Ries 4 of 4

42. After studying the competition decide on the position opposite and own the word. For instance most fitness clubs are for men and women. ‘Curves’ is a fitness club only for ‘Women’. Marlboro threw out the cowgirls and began to own cowboys. Competition for United Jersey bank is Chase and Citi. The impression is that big banks are slow. So United Jersey bank became the fast bank.

43. The American Cancer Association advertises the 7 danger signals of cancer. Nobody remembers one. ‘3 signs of heart attack’, ‘5 rules for a healthier heart’. Too much information. Basically the heart is a pump. It is the same size no matter what the size of the person. So if a person starts bloating the pump starts struggling. So focus only on obesity. The 3 biggest sports in America are breakfast, lunch and dinner.

44. Leaders own the category. One thinks of the leader. One may not buy it. Where consultants are concerned, Drucker owned ‘Management’, Porter owned ‘Strategy’, Tom Peters ‘Excellence’, Michael Hammer ‘Reengineering’. Movie stars too own a word. John Wayne became a Man’s man, Marilyn Monroe, the sexy woman, Julia Roberts, the pretty woman, Arnold Schwarzenegger the ‘Terminator’.

45. If you can own one attribute in the mind, the prospect will give you many others.

46. Guatemala in Central America does not own a word in people’s minds and therefore even though it has the capacity of being a world-class tourist destination it is not. The Mayan ruins of Guatemala are one of the richest archaeological sites in the world. And just as the Taj Mahal is associated with India and the Great Wall with China, there is no such association of the Mayan ruins with Guatemala. Tourism is just 1% of GDP. In order to get that association one can think of changing Guatemala to Guatemaya. India is famous for its ‘intellectual capital’ – its Phds and engineers and so on - and yet one does not project it that way.

47. Law of the negative. See if one can turn it into a positive. Volvo turned ugliness into reliability.

48. Law of focus. Every company needs to resist the temptation to keep adding products and services. As categories grow and opportunities appear as forks on the pathway, the tendency is to take both forks. In the airline industry the two forks could be illustrated as Passengers or cargo, business or tourist, domestic or international, high or low prices, full service or no frills, first class or coach and so on. Southwest however took only one fork. Business destinations only. Coach class service only. Domestic only, no international flights. Only one type of aircraft in comparison to delta which as 8 different types of aircraft. The result is that Southwest Airlines over the last 10 years has earned a revenue of $44 bn. And a net profit margin of 8 percent. While the 5 largest airlines in the US have together earned $657 bn. And a net income loss of $ 646.

49. Law of Borders. No borders for a brand. The future belongs to brands. Anywhere in the world the bar contains the same brands. But the global brand needs to come from somewhere. Coca Cola is from America. Lexus is from Japan even though it is made in America. The brand needs to be consistent with the country of origin. Italy with fashion, Switzerland with watches, India with intellectual capital. If one is strong in one country then one can move the strength to another country. Siemens the no.1 brand in Europe now no.1 in USA. A global brand has to be acceptable worldwide.

50. Law of consistency. Success is measured over a period of time. In a constantly changing world we don’t.

51. Law of singularity. A car that’s safe. An expensive watch.