Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

I Brand U
Rope In Your Branding
I Am A Brand

Dear weldonbbs,

As much as I applaud your reasons for staging your event, I think you're a little confused about your goal and just what it is exactly, what you want people to walk away with. What you're talking about here isn't branding, it's positioning.

It's almost possible to brand one's self "like brands do" because branding mostly happens as a result of having used the service, or as a precursor to adopting the values and benefits inherent in the product, service, widget etc.,—and adoptions based on wants, needs, desires, aspirations, social proof, and the prospect's desire to belong to the same social tribe—to, in effect—be accepted into the same logo wearing, object toting psychological village or clan.

That's what logo wearing is all about. That's what drives people to support one sports team over another. And it's one of the primary driving agents behind an astonishingly high percentage of the buying and selling decisions we make.

These decisions and choices are ultimately designed to tell other people that we are better than them, or that we belong to their group (or that tell them that in order to belong to OUR group, they need to have the specific label or logo that we associate with in order to be classed as acceptable).

And all of this aides in social connectivity that tells people that
we are acceptable as friends, mates, allies, colleagues, and business associates—or that we are the opposite of all these things.

This might all sound like pie-in-the-sky, happy-happy, joy-joy BS, and it might also be a world away from what you anticipated (it might also upset a few people because I'm not answering your question directly), but it's all designed to HELP you do one thing above a=everything else: it's designed to help you succeed.

All of this is hard wired into our DNA—of this, I'm convinced. Branding isn't something new that came along within the last 100 years: it's deeply etched into our psychology because at its core it's a key survival element.

Flags, gang colours, uniforms, logos, war paint, cosmetics, the six gun on the hip in the 1800s and the cell phone in the holster on someone's waist band or in someone's purse or carry on baggage today—they're all closely connected and it's for THIS reason that the seminar you're presenting is about positioning, not about branding.

Until a product, service, object, or widget has been positioned in the market place, until its location vertically, horizontally, globally, social, economically, culturally and so on has been defined to appeal to the set of buyers with the most influence, the most leverage, the most clout—and this is often strategic to extremes—until this positioning has happened, the power of the brand is at best, tame, and at worst, invisible.

So, a great title for your event might be:

"Positioning: How To Best Place Yourself, Your Company, and Your Products To Dominate Your Market"

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

P.S. You might want to read "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind" by Al Ries and Jack Trout, which you'll find here:

www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0446347949

NOTE: This is NOT an affiliate link.