The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding

Citation

Dupree, J. (2001), "The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 449-457. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2001.18.5.449.4

In the years I have reviewed for the Journal of Consumer Marketing, I have read a number of excellent books, but only two that I consider must reads for all business professionals. The 11 Immutable Laws of lnternet Branding is one of them. While the word “immutable” may be a touch of hyperbole, the authors’ insights into consumers and marketing in the new Internet‐based economy and their application of these insight to branding reveal broader trends and strategies that should be considered by anyone in business.

A lot has happened to technology, especially the Internet, since the authors penned this encyclical on the future of marketing on the Internet. For some, just the word “Internet” brings a spasm of pain and a reflex akin to touching a hot stove and getting burned. 11 Immutable Laws provides some understanding of the reasons for our recent pain in the collapse of Internet businesses, and more importantly, ways to recover and regain market share and profitability.

Eleven short articulate and pithy chapters, one per law, describe,and exemplify each law. From the opening chapter on “The law of either/or” to the last chapter, “The law of transformation” Ries and Ries describe each law, exemplify it through specific examples of businesses practicing it or failing to do so, and then either offer steps for applying the law or questions to assess its applicability to a marketer’s situation.

The book is a mix of branding strategy and business strategy. Laws 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are as much business strategies as they are branding maxims. This does not mean that these laws do not offer specific, concrete advice relevant to branding, but rather that they have significant strategic considerations. Every CEO considering or using the Internet needs to think through whether it is a business or simply a medium – “The law of either/or”. The implications of these two mindsets for marketing and business strategy are the reasons for success or failure. Every firm, regardless of size, must plan for and proactively address the destruction of barriers to entry and market boundaries by the Internet – “The law of globalization”. What corporate executive doesn’t need to plan for the accelerating pace of business and the problems inherent in trying to be all things to all people? – “The laws of time and vanity”.

Probably the most strategically significant chapter, as it contradicts – quite convincingly – all of the technology pundits, is “The law of divergence”. This law is ten‐page summary of the consequences and practical considerations of Christensen’ s 1997 work, The Innovator’s Dilemma. If businesses and marketers do not grasp the fact that technological innovation is moving downscale, technologies are diverging, and specializing, not converging, the technological marketplace is going to be littered with many more failed companies. Ries and Ries’ cogent, well‐documented and exemplified argument for the growing divergence and fragmentation of technologies and markets is worth the price of the book. CEOs, strategists, and marketers, ignore this argument at your own peril!The closing strategy‐oriented law – “The law of transformation”, takes us a bit further down the road we have already glimpsed – how much the world has, is, and will change due to the Internet.

The other five “immutable” laws, focused on branding and marketing strategies, are as powerful as they are common sense. The authors show a clear understanding of both the consumer’s mind and the inherent nature of the internet. As one who uses, trains with, and searches the Net, I am often surprised at how many firms ignore “The law of interactivity”, the need for an information exchange process between customer and company. Firms on the Internet need to not only use the Internet to convey their product’s uniqueness and enable customers to get it, they must facilitate feedback and respond to it. Like old‐fashioned direct mail, the Internet gives marketers an opportunity to receive feedback tied to specific products, but in an instant and in a collectable form, rather than scattered data over a matter of weeks and months. Laws 3 and 4 – “The law of the common name” and “The law of the proper name” – are flip sides of the same coin, the power of correctly naming a product. In terms of Internet branding strategies, these are pivotal chapters. Brand name is the most critical element of an Intemet marketing strategy because it is the lead, if not sole, attractor of the consumer to the product on the Internet. The text orientation, the need to search via words, makes brand name the make‐or‐break element of any Internet marketing strategy. Selecting the best Internet brand name is simple – seven clear steps – but difficult. This is where the marketer proves his/her value – via a process of creating and implementing a unique Internet presence.

The fifth law – “The law of singularity” – reminds us that we can’t afford to be second. Ries’ surprising argument is against brand extensions and pushes for narrowing Internet brands rather than expanding them. A second surprise is the sixth law – “The law of advertising”. It seems the key to marketing success on the Internet is not advertising on the Internet!Prescient to the current collapse of Internet advertising, Reis and Reis make the point that the best way to use the Internet to build your brand is to advertise in traditional media. On the Internet a brand only appears if summoned – the brand name issue. In traditional media the ubiquitous nature of advertising brings the brand to the consumer. Some have tried to overcome this with links and banner ads on others’ sites, but the “click‐throughs” have been dismal and are declining.

This is a book to buy, to send your friends, and like a good novel, to reread every so often. The simplicity of its style and the depth of its insights – for branding and strategy – will have “legs” for a long time.