Printed
with permission from TCI
Management Consultants. A group of senior-level management
consultants, offering strategic planning and marketing services
to a wide range of public and private sector clients.
The
22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or
Service into a World-Class Brand
by Al Ries and Laura Ries
HarperCollins, New York, 1998
ISBN 0-88730-937-2
According to the
father-daughter team of Al and Laura Ries, a brand name
is a name (a Proper Noun in fact) in the mind of the consumer
that conveys a single proposition about a particular product
or service. The power in a brand name lies in its ability
to positively influence purchasing behavior. In an increasingly
cluttered information society, a powerful brand image can
act as a guidepost for the consumer in making a purchase
decision.
"What
is accelerating this trend is the decline of selling. As
a profession and as a function, selling is slowly sinking
like the Titanic. Today, most products and services are
bought, not sold. And branding greatly facilitates this
process. Branding "pre-sells" the product or service
to the user. Branding is simply an efficient way to sell
things." (p.2)
A successful
branding program, therefore, should differentiate your product
or service from all the similar products or services out
there.
"A
successful branding program is based on the concept of singularity.
It creates in the mind of the prospect the perception that
there is no product on the market quite like your product.
Can
a successful brand appeal to everybody? No. The same concept
of singularity makes certain that no one brand can possibly
have a universal appeal." (p.7)
In this
book, the authors discuss 'laws' of branding that they have
found to hold true across innumerable product and service
offerings. Continuing the theme that Ries has championed
in previous books (see, for example, The 22 Immutable Laws
of Marketing and Focus) they maintain that a major problem
for companies is the temptation to extend a successful brand
into other, sometimes only peripherally-related, areas.
(Two actual examples mentioned in the book are Harley-Davidson
wine coolers and Heinz all-purpose cleaning vinegar.) Such
brand extensions only serve to confuse the consumer and
dilute the single message strength of the core brand.
Their
twenty-two 'laws' of branding are:
1. the
law of expansion the power of a brand is inversely
proportional to its scope "Marketers constantly run
branding programs that are in conflict with how people want
to perceive their brands. Customers want brands that are
narrow in scope and are distinguishable by a single word,
the shorter the better." (p. 13)
2. the
law of contraction a brand becomes stronger when you
narrow its focus
3. the
law of publicity the birth of a brand is achieved
with publicity, not advertising Ries and Ries maintain
that advertising is best used to maintain a brand, but that
it is very difficult and expensive to launch a new brand
through advertising alone they best way, they say,
is to be first in a new product or service category, and
reap the attendant publicity
4. the
law of advertising once born, a brand needs advertising
to stay healthy
5. the
law of the word a brand should strive to own a word
in the mind of the consumer "If you want to build
a brand, you must focus your branding efforts on owning
a word in the prospect's mind. A word that nobody else owns."
(p.39) Examples they give include: Mercedes = prestige;
Volvo = safety; Kleenex = tissue; Xerox = copier; FedEx
= overnight.
6. the
law of credentials the crucial ingredient in the success
of any brand is its claim to authenticityŠ and the
best claim to authenticity is being the leading product
or service in your category, because consumers assume that
if it is a leading seller, it must be good:
"Never
forget leadership. No matter how small the market, don't
get duped into simply selling the benefits of the category.
There
are also the long-term benefits of leadership. Because once
you get on top, its hard to lose your spot. A widely-publicized
study of twenty-five leading brands in twenty-five different
product categories in the year 1923 showed that twenty of
the same twenty-five brands are still the leaders in their
categories today. In seventy-five years, only five brands
lost their leadership." (p.53)
7. the
law of quality quality is important, but brands are
not built by quality alone In fact, as the authors
point out, most people have no idea as to the "real"
quality of a product or service. Is a Rolex really better
at keeping time than a Timex? How do you know?
8. the
law of the category a leading brand should promote
the product or service category, not the brand This
may seen counter-intuitive, but the authors argue here that
the best way for the brand leader to build sales is to promote
the category, not their specific brand. This is a more effective
way to build up overall market awareness and interest, and
the brand leader will naturally benefit to a greater degree
than other competitors, by virtue of their larger market
share. (And when the overall size of the market is built
up, then the leader is in a good position to increase market
share still further.)
9. the
law of the name in the long run, a brand is nothing
more than a name
10.
the law of extensions the easiest way to destroy a
brand is to put its name on everything
11.
the law of fellowship in order to build the category,
a brand should welcome other brands see rule #8
12.
the law of the generic one of the fastest routes to
failure is giving a brand a generic name Generic names
(i.e. names that describe the product or service category,
such as "Wine Coolerz"), do not strongly position
the product or service within the category, and are thus
liable to confuse potential customers.
13.
the law of the company Brands are brands. Companies
are companies. There is a difference.
"The
issue of how to use a company name is at the same time both
simple and complicated. Simple, because the laws are so
clear-cut. Complicated, because most companies do not follow
the simple laws of branding and end up with a system that
defies logic and results in endless brand versus company
debates.
Brand
names should almost always take precedence over company
names. Consumers buy brands, they don't buy companies. So
when a company name is used alone as a brand name (GE, Coca
Cola, IBM, Xerox, Intel), customers see these names as brands."
(p.106)
14.
the law of subbrands what branding builds, subbranding
(i.e. brand extensions) can destroy. The name 'Chevrolet'
used to stand for something. Now, what is it? A large, small,
cheap, expensive car or truck.
15.
the law of siblings There is a time and a place to
launch a second brand. "The key to a family approach
is to make each sibling a unique individual brand with its
own identity. Resist the urge to give the brands a family
look or identity. You want to make each brand a different
and distinct as possible." (p.120)
16.
the law of shape A brand's logotype should be designed
to fit the eye. Both eyes. The authors argue here that the
ideal shape for a logotype or brand symbol is two and a
quarter units wide and one unit high.
17.
the law of color A brand should use a color that is
the opposite of its major competitor's.
18.
the law of borders There are no barriers to global
branding. A brand should know no borders.
19.
the law of consistency A brand is not built overnight.
Success is measured in decades, not years.
20.
the law of change Brands can be changed, but only
infrequently and very carefully.
21.
the law of mortality No brand will live forever. Euthanasia
is often the best solution.
22.
the law of singularity The most important aspect of
a brand is its single-mindedness.
The
book is a quick read, very much in the tradition of other
Ries-influenced offerings. It contains much useful advice,
and is written in a entertaining and readable style.
The
above summary has been provided to you compliments of TCI
Management Consultants
