Be the Brand: How to Find a Powerful Identity and Use it to Drive Sales

Citation

Grassl, W. (2002), "Be the Brand: How to Find a Powerful Identity and Use it to Drive Sales", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 279-280. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2002.19.3.279.2

Be the Brand may be an unusual title for a popular (or “trade”) book on business. But it encapsulates very elegantly what the author wants to communicate – that successful brands crucially depend on a clear vision and must be part of a supportive company culture. In short, they must be “lived.” “Each must live and be the brand to make the promise real” (p. 166).

This is a non‐technical book, and yet it is not shallow or simply a check‐list of practical tips, different from most of the ever‐burgeoning trade literature on branding. Its author is an advertising practitioner and branding expert who took some theory, many facts and stories about brands, and quite a bit of his own professional experience to concoct an interesting kaleidoscope of information and recommendations. The book is replete with examples – not any elaborate case studies but rather short vignettes without much quantitative evidence. The panoply of brands and companies discussed includes Nike, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Stanley Tools, McDonald’s, Siebe Appliance Controls, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, Reynolds Recycling, Media General Corporation, Honda, Stihl Chain Saws, Volkswagen, Miller Lite Beer, Electrolux, Colonial Williamsburg, Carnival Cruises, Volvo, Luck Stone Corporation, Riggs Bank, Titleist Golf Balls, Advance Auto Parts, Cadmus Communications, and the Keep America Beautiful Campaign. Many of these are not widely known and analyzed brands, and already this departure from the usual textbook focus on the stories of global “master” brands makes the book worth reading.

The author starts by driving home a few familiar but nonetheless important points: that brands must be built around a single “claim to fame,” that they must be congruent with what companies stand for, that a core identity is the glue that holds them together, and that advertising and sales depend crucially on matching brand essence with target customers. The central concept here is that of brand essence, which “draws on the soul (the core) of the brand to set the product or company apart from all others in the company” (p. 21). Identity is the core of brand essence, which is here largely identified with what has come to be known as a “unique selling proposition.”

From an analytical point of view, this of course raises questions. In the history of philosophy, at least in its various dualist manifestations, “essence” has always belonged to the realm of things, while“identity” lies in the realm of persons, thoughts or ideas. Would it not be more fruitful to use the term “brand essence” to stand for the objective properties (such as texture, shape, taste, etc.) of products that make branding possible, while brand identity is the specific position of brands in the perceptual map of consumers? In developing his apple model of brand essence – with brand identity at the core, benefits and attributes as the flesh, and emotion as the skin that holds the fruit together (p. 23) – the author seems to reverse causal relations. Isn’t it rather the emotions and values at the core – the “full sweetness” of apples – that make us buy a brand (or eat an apple) in the first place, while we use the attributes and tangible benefits at its periphery (by peeling away the skin) as being indicative of what to expect and go for? Is the satisfaction we aim at not at the very core of consumption, and all the more so with strong brands, rather than merely being an “emotional wrap” (p. 26)? However this may be, the examples presented for brand essence and its role in formulating marketing strategy are good, and the importance of core identity in developing advertising copy and in planning the various stages of the “total selling” process is highlighted most convincingly.

The author emphasizes that, for strong brands to be built, there must be a natural congruity between the core values of companies, their identities as encapsulated in corporate mission statements, their marketing strategies and their brand‐positioning statements. Brands cannot be developed in a vacuum but need to be supported by an appropriate corporate culture. Therefore, “always market inside first” (p. 99). A brand’s “haiku,” what it stands for, as represented in a short but memorable formulation, must be known to every member of an organization for it to be credibly communicated to external publics. A glimpse at several non‐profit organizations shows that all these principles are the same, at least at the strategic level, regardless of whether profit‐oriented companies and brands are concerned or not.

The author brings in psychological theory wherever needed to support his points. This is the case, for example, when discussing how the relative strength of motives can determine the optimum use of appeals in advertising (pp. 135ff.). Freud is not absent in this context, nor is Maslow. Also, the psychology of color is used to exemplify how creative execution can support brand essence to strengthen brand equity. Retailing is another forum for building brands, as are quality management and customer service.

Overall, this is a book from which marketing practitioners and a wider public alike will benefit. It is a “must read” for advertising strategists and brand consultants. Different from textbooks, it does not feature any consistent theory building but strings together numerous insights and pieces of wisdom. Every chapter concludes with a brief summary in the form of practical, didactic advice. Though the points the book makes may not be novel, its concentration on a few topics that are well supported by examples and its anecdotal and narrative style make for inspiring and enjoyable reading.