Your best advertising is your brand.

There's an old saying in the advertising world that goes, "Your best advertising is your brand." And it's true!

Do you know what your company represents? What it stands for? If not, you're in trouble.

Your best advertising is your brand. It's the story of who you are, what you do, and why people should care.

Without a clear message and story, you'll blend in with all the other businesses out there. And that's the last thing you want.

Differentiate yourself and be remarkable! Stand for something people can believe in and they will become loyal customers for life.

That's the power of a strong brand.

In 1904, Amadeo Giannini spotted a gap in the market.

Many poor Sicilians seeking a new life had emigrated to America. Some stayed in New York, but the poorer ones, the hardworking fishermen, wanted to escape the crime.

They went to San Francisco. Giannini knew these men, he understood them: they worked hard, they saved their money.

He knew they needed a bank to keep their money safe. But no such thing existed for Sicilian immigrants. Banks were just for rich White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). And that was the gap in the market Amadeo Giannini saw.

The gap for a bank where Sicilians would feel welcome. He didn’t know anything about ‘branding’ but he knew the name should be something they trusted. He opened a little shop front with a big sign outside: BANK OF ITALY. That told the Sicilian fishermen: this is your bank, it’s not just for rich WASPs.

And the Sicilian fisherman deposited their savings. The Bank of Italy became a success.

But in 1906, San Francisco was destroyed by an earthquake. All the buildings were flattened, there were riots and looting.

Giannini made his way through the mob on a horse and cart carrying crates of oranges. As a fruit-seller, no one paid any attention to him. What they didn’t know was that hidden under the oranges was every penny of the bank’s assets.

Giannini knew that as long as he had the money he still had a bank. He went down to the docks where the fishermen worked. He re-opened ‘Bank of Italy’ there, just a plank across two barrels.

His customers needed to borrow money to rebuild their homes and businesses. He asked how much they needed. When they told him, he said, raise half yourself then I’ll lend you the other half.

This would prove they were serious and capable. He was always proud that every penny was repaid. Bank of Italy grew and grew until it became the only statewide bank across California.

Now it was time to stop being a bank just for Sicilian fishermen. He needed a brand that the all US citizens could feel was their bank. Amadeo Giannini needed to rebrand.

In 1930, he changed the name to BANK OF AMERICA. Now it felt like it had stature, it felt like it had history and tradition. And Giannini was right about the rebranding.

Bank of America grew so fast that, in a few decades, it would become the second-largest bank in the entire USA. One of the largest banks in the world.

In 1958 they launched the world’s first credit card. It was called the BankAmericard. It created the credit-card market around the entire world. Which meant that now it wasn’t just a credit card for Americans. So it needed rebranding again.

It needed a name to underline the freedom the card gave everyone to travel with their money anywhere. BankAmericard was renamed VISA. Today VISA has 38% share of the world’s credit-card market. It handles 62 billion transactions a year, amounting to $4.4 trillion. Proving what Amadeo Giannini knew all those years ago.?

Your best advertising is your brand!