Powerful Brands.

Brands are?some of the most important and powerful human innovations - and exist only in our minds. Brands communicate feelings and thoughts that influence human behavior just as much as other basic human needs and drivers of life – food, shelter, sex, and belonging to a tribe. They help us navigate a large, complex and confusing world with countless choices between different automobiles, hotels, and shoes. And coffee, bottled water, and bananas. Or airplanes, buildings,?and beds. Everything can be differentiated by branding: cement, grass seeds, internet services, underwear, bread and soap. On the corporate balance sheet, brands are captured as intangible assets and often the most valuable element to a company. According to research by Dun & Bradstreet, there are 8 billion people and 235 million companies of all shapes and sizes across 200 countries on our planet. More than one million brands help to bring shape and order - and?pleasure -?to?our chaotic world. How do?powerful brands?shape and influence our human experience? How can they help?you make better choices????

Branding is a critical communication tool in the marketing toolbox, and powerful brands shape our decisions and lives in thousands of visible and invisible?ways every single day. Crest or Colgate? Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks? Chevron or Shell? Apple or Samsung? McDonald’s or Burger King? Coke or Pepsi? Canada Goose or Burberry? BMW or Chevrolet? United Airlines or Southwest Airlines? Hilton or Marriott? Uber or Lyft? Coach or Hermes? Marketing was born a hundred years ago out of the discipline of economics and has evolved to become one of the most important “shaping tools” in our modern, $88 trillion?global economy. You can have the best mousetrap on the planet, but if you don’t know how to effectively go-to-market, build brands and communicate with targeted consumers, retain loyal customers and create raving fans – there is simply no way your company can thrive or survive. If you don't understand the basics of branding, then you are surely doomed to a spectacular?failure.?Or death by a thousand cuts. The outcome is the same. Just like the simple and clear message in the classic, best-selling book by author Jack Trout, Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition (2000).

Most North American marketing students are introduced to classic concepts and works?including E. Jerome McCarthy’s 8 Ps of Marketing (expanded over the years from his original 4 Ps in 1960), Philip Kotler’s Marketing Management (1967) - the most widely used marketing textbook in the world to this day, and currently in its 16th updated edition - and Michael Porter’s “Differentiation Strategy” in one of the most important business books in modern times, Competitive?Strategy (1985). Well-informed marketing?"Jedi Knights"?are also grounded in the 1960 classic Harvard Business School article by Sid Levy?entitled Symbols for Sale.?It is a good read because you realize how simple the business and marketing practitioners were during this new, early period of rapid expansion and growth for fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), and luxury goods and brands. Powerful global brands were just beginning to emerge. Although simple branding had been around since the?Egyptians started branding their bricks used in building?numerous pyramids,?it was relatively new thinking 60-years ago that “symbols” such as words, logos, taglines, colors, shapes, sounds, smells, tastes, and other dimensions – and the concept of brands – were powerful "psychological things" that communicate value, functionality, technology, consistency, aspirations, and social acceptance and connectivity. Think of the Nike swoosh, Intel's musical chime, or Disney's Mickey Mouse ears. Stronger brands created engaged and excited consumer loyalists – and allowed companies to sell more product, to more people, more frequently, and at higher prices. This proved to be a winning combination. Our society was quickly becoming a Brave New World and the future was full of exciting possibilities and potential.

The most powerful brands in the world today are much different and often contain names and symbols unknown only 10 or 20 years ago. According to Fortune Magazine (January 1, 2017), Apple is the most powerful brand in the world, followed closely by others including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Disney. Breakthrough brands are now Tesla, Uber, Airbnb, Instagram, Square, and others. Global luxury brands are some of the most powerful “symbols” on the planet, and the luxury goods market is more than $282 billion -?and growing very fast. According to the PMX Agency, a leader in luxury research and trends, the most powerful global luxury brands are Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors, followed by Coach, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Burberry, and Hermes. Billions of poor Chinese, Indian, and South American farmers are experiencing new wealth – and becoming global super-consumers who appreciate and seek out innovative products and services with powerful brands. Many desire luxury brands.

As the dynamic and complex global economy continues to grow and diversify even more, powerful brands are becoming central to the success of a business model, separating companies into winners and losers, and connecting people across national boundaries and competing belief systems. There are probably more than 10,000 “consumer types” across the values and lifestyles spectrum (VALS), and important and innovative brands with?a compelling value proposition that communicate in unique and powerful ways to their targeted segments will become stronger and more resilient in a highly-competitive, global economy. Brands have the power to unite us. Q Scores, around since 1964,?help measure the power of brands, including people. (Tom Hanks and Oprah consistently have some of the highest Q Scores.) Brands will continue to be an important relationship in our lives and shape our experiences in new ways, whether we realize it or not. Successful leadership teams?and companies that build and maintain their brand mastery, or become "Jedi Knight" Brand Masters, have a clear and dominant competitive advantage in the global marketplace. As individuals and consumers, we have the unique and brilliant opportunity to choose the relationships and brands that help us realize our full potential and experience a more meaningful?life. We should never lose sight of the fact that our thoughts and behaviors are easily influenced and guided by symbols. Our humanness can be both so irrational and predictable at times. It makes life interesting. Our brands are constantly shaping us in powerful ways.

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Let's Create More Sparks:?Robert is a curious?Irish-Canadian and well-traveled American who naturally enjoys story telling?that includes lots of?interesting facts and figures.?Stats and data points help tell powerful stories. Interesting quotes and good books bring vivid colors and memorable shapes to?a story. Good stories inspire the human spirit. Ideally?you found an?idea or two in this?LinkedIn article that can now be used as a fantastic conversation starter with friends or colleagues over a cup of coffee on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.