Ever met someone who never takes sides. Never makes a clear decision. Always wants the group to decide so he doesn’t run the risk of making anyone upset. You probably called this person wishy washy, indecisive or maybe even weak. And never a leader.

Now imagine this person is your brand. A lot of marketers are scared to death that someone may call, email, write a letter to the editor or, God forbid, tweet their dissatisfaction. They would rather stand for nothing then have someone rant about their product on their Facebook wall.

Now think of a person with strong opinions maybe even famous people with strong opinions. Those people probably have a lot of lovers and haters. Most politicians are that way and many business leaders are that way too  –like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Yet their brands represent the two largest market capitalization in the world (Exxon is the only US company with a larger market cap than Apple).

People find their personalities both attracting and appalling as well as the products these companies offer. Sure, they are unique individuals and companies but that’s the point. So is Tony Heish and Zappos. Or Mark Cuban and his Dallas Mavericks and HDNet. And of course, Martha Stewart and Omnimedia.

A company doesn’t have to have a strong CEO to stand for something either. You probably don’t know who the CEO of Disney is now that Michael Eisner (or Walt) is gone but you understand what the brand represents (yes there are people who hate the mouse). And what about Porsche? Or say Burberry?

A brand can stand for something just through the products it makes or the service it offers. But is often communicated effectively through it’s marketing and advertising. I’m not going to dissect ad campaigns and say which ones run the risk of offending and which make a stand. It’s pretty obvoius when they do and when they don’t.

Posted on: June 10, 2010, by : Jimmy Gilmore