Romancing the Brand

A "brand" includes any product, service, or company that is promoted in order to build a customer base. Any brand that has name recognition stands for something distinct from everything else in the same category (value-added). A dominant value point must be identified and communicated in a credible and relevant way to a large segment of the target consumer audience. Advertising that accomplishes this solidifies the customer base, converts the infre-quent user into a frequent user, and the frequent user into a single brand loyalist-in other words, carves out a category share.The "legend" of advertising, David Ogilvy has no patience with the current advertising trend that creates media events outside of strategy-where "clever" and "unique" are promoted rather than the brand. In the tradition of Claude Hopkins, Ogilvy defines advertising as a powerful selling force that builds brands and corporations through mass persuasion over the long term. The brand is the celebrity, not the genius of the creative writer and artist. The sale, not the ad, is the bottom line.Advertising consists of dramatic moments skillfully blended with indirect sales appeals, allowing consumers to draw their own conclusions about the advantages of the brand. The hard sell is usually inappropriate, and pointless drama is worthless.