High Road Ventures

What is "Brand?" Do you have clear and concise answer to this seemingly simple question? I'll wait ;) ... Did you struggle with an answer? It's OK, you're not alone. Over the last 15 years, I've worked with bootstrapped startups to high-growth scaleups to billion dollar businesses, and one thing is clear... Brand is the most misunderstood word in the modern marketing dictionary. This is a problem. If we don't agree on a definition, it's impossible to agree on it's value. So let's define it, once and for all! Brand is your reputation. It's what people think, feel and say about you. It's the set of beliefs that an individual or group have about your public identity. Clear, simple and tangible, right? The cool thing about a reputation is they can be shaped. This is brand marketing. More on that next week. Now, let's talk about brand value. According to Kantar's widely respected BrandZ report, the link between brand value and financial performance is undeniable. Over the last decade, companies that met the "strong brand" criteria grew by an astounding 228%, compared to just 69% for the S&P 500. (Link to my post about this report: https://lnkd.in/eDE5X66w) Pretty compelling data right, but let's simplify things... Ask yourself, when was the last time you let someone into your house you didn't trust, respect or value? A product or business is no different. No amount of promotions, discounts or sales can overcome a bad reputation aka a weak Brand. On the flip side, a strong Brand only improves the effectiveness of all other forms of marketing. - Higher ROAS - Lower CAC - Greater Profitability Punchline: The next time someone says "brand doesn't matter," ask them if their reputation matters.