What's the most dangerous word in marketing?

->-> Dangerous, misunderstood - AND costly

You'll never guess what it is.

About 70 years ago Rosser Reeves who coined the U.S.P said "Originality is the most dangerous word in the advertiser's lexicon."

David Ogilvy, never needlessly original, sometimes quoted that without crediting Reeves whose agency competed with his.

So what is today's most dangerous word?

The answer is "Brand".

I bet you more pretentious guff is spewed out about brands and branding than any other marketing subject.

I'll also bet most of the spewers, 95% probably, have no idea what really builds a brand.

I saw one woman the other day whose job is "brand custodian".

I wonder what she does.

Odds on it's not what she should do.

When I wrote a weekly column for Marketing magazine I became friendly with Professor Andrew Ehrenberg - a leading thinker in the field. To this day an institute is named after him in Melbourne.

He discovered it is not advertising, nor brilliant promotion, nor a slogan like "Just Do It" that builds a brand.

It is selling.

If you sell most in your category you have the strongest brand.

Because you sell more you outgun your competitors at every turn.

It really is that simple.

Just think:

The chief reason you buy is not advertising at all.

Why did you choose the last 10 new things you bought.

I guarantee advertising had nothing to do with it in most cases.

Maybe friends suggested it to you. Or you read a review. Or you heard about it somewhere.

Obviously if you have the most customers you have the most people telling friends how good they are.

The moral of the story is also simple.

Ignore the tripe you read about branding, especially in marketing magazines and on marketing websites or from marketers at conferences.

Just work on selling more.

I hope that makes sense to you - especially because the more you sell the more you get paid.

We are extraordinarily good at selling the most extraordinary range of things - all over the world.

What's more we charge a damn sight less than the ivory tower theorists who bore you to death with their inane chatter about brands.

Why not drop me a line now and see if we can't help you build your brand the real way?

Best,

Drayton

P.P.S. Know anyone who'd appreciate my Bird Droppings? Tell them to sign up to my mailing list here.