THE STORY OF BRANDING

THESTORY OF BRANDING

Ihave three rocks at home. If you were to inspect them I'm sure, likeeveryone else, you'd conclude they're almost identical; same size,weight and color, and therefore worth much the same as each other.But that conclusion would be drawn before I'd told you their stories.

At10:30 p.m. on November 9, 1989, following lifting travel restrictionsfor East Germans, the Berlin Wall, which had divided East and WestBerlin since 1961, was opened at the Bornholmer Strasse bordercrossing. In the ensuing hours and days, other border crossing pointswere opened and the Berlin Wall was dismantled peacefully over theweekend of the 11th and 12th of November. At that historic juncture,one of my friends who was on the spot amongst the internationalcrowd, managed to get hold of a piece of the wall, one of the veryfirst pieces to be dislodged from the structure. So what do you thinkof that piece of rock's value now? Would you pay a bit more for itthan you might have thought at first glance?

ButI told you there are three rocks, so the story doesn't stop here. Thesecond was supposedly discovered in July 1969, by a man named Neil.Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. He was in aunique position to gather a couple of rocks as a neat souvenir formankind. Apparently, one of my three rocks is one of those collectedby Commander Armstrong. What would you be prepared to pay for this,were it for sale?

Thethird rock is from my backyard (a lovely backyard by the way). But nomatter how good a salesman I amy be, I'm sure I couldn't persuade youto purchase this specimen. It's simply too ordinary. Yet it looksalmost identical to the two other stones which have such colorfulprovenances.

Whichof my three rocks would you choose if you could? I'd be willing tobet the lunar stone would be your first choice, not because it's morebeautiful (it's not), or because of any precious minerals it contains(it doesn't), but simply because of its history. The story investssignificance in the rock that might persuade you to part with severalthousand dollars for it.

Andthere you have the secret of branding. The rocks' stories made adifference to your perception of these otherwise parochial objects.Their histories create an emotional bond between you and the product.No fancy logo needed, no top-dollar graphics. A simple story is allit takes to inflate the value desirability of the objects.

That'sexactly what you should have in mind when you build brands. Yes, thegraphics are important. So are other factors such as distribution,product design and, of course, quality of the product. But don'tforget the little story that can infuse your product with charismaand bond customers with the product emotionally and intellectually.

Openyour mind to your brand's stories, don't discard them. Reveal them,strengthen them, and allow them to define your brand's identity.Share the stories on your Web site and encourage your customers toshare their stories about your product. Dig deeper, do some research,and uncover the special heritage of your brand or your category ofbusiness.

Brandingis all about creating an emotional grid around the product. The moresophisticated the grid of values, the more compatibly they match thecore values of your brand, the better your brand is armed againstcompetitors.

Justthink about those rocks. Reveal your brand's stories and see if theyrepresent the hidden point of difference for your brand.