Teleseminar

Check back soon for Brian’s most recent teleseminars reproduced in mp3 format.

Lash Marketing Teleseminar: On the Brand Debate
June 25, 2005:

“Welcome, and thanks for joining the call. My name is Brian Lash, and as you probably know, I am the president of Lash Marketing. What you may not know is that this is a significant moment for you and I both because this is the first time Lash Marketing has employed the teleseminar as a vehicle to convey marketing advice.

I hope you can tell by the sound in my voice that I’m very excited about the opportunity to speak with you and I hope you share my enthusiasm about this new approach.

In typical Lash Marketing style we are going to skip the B.S. and make a uh, make a rather bold entrance by beginning our first session with a controversial topic- and that topic is branding. Now you may wonder why I call branding a controversial topic, and I’ll address your question in only a moment. First, let’s define the topic at hand.

Brands are identifying marks, symbols, words, or a combination of same that separate one’s product or service from another firm’s.

Brand image is a function of a brand that refers to the qualities that consumers associate with a specific brand, expressed in terms of human behavior and desires, but that also relate to price, quality, and situational use of the brand. The image is not inherent in the brand name but is created through advertising.

If you would like I invite you to take a moment after the call to imagine your favorite brand and then jot down a quick list of the qualities the brand evokes in your mind- i.e. the brand image. For example, if you choose McDonald’s you might write Happy Meals, Big Macs, Efficiency, Paper waste, and on and on… McDonald’s is the brand, and the qualities you have listed are the brand image.

So you have a brand, the advertising of which brings through within the minds of your customers a brand image. This is the paradigm with which we must approach branding.

At this point I’ll expound on that little debate I alluded to a few moments ago when I told you branding is a controversial topic. We’ll then refer once more to the preceding definition to see if we can’t together gain some insight into the debate and additionally dispel the uncertainties surrounding the effectiveness of branding in small businesses.

Essentially in the small business/ entrepreneur community there are two schools of branding thought, each with their respective proponents. Their debate is actually quite straightforward (and Shakespearian, if you will). The question is this: to brand or not to brand? Note, that I maintain this is not the question. Allow me to repeat once more:

Brands are identifying marks, symbols, words, or a combination of same that separate one’s product or service from another firm’s.

My point is this: everything has a brand. Every firm, every product, every business owner has a brand. The question therefore is not whether or not you should brand your company but whether or not you ought to use your ability to positively influence the qualities consumers associate with your brand.

YOU DO NOT DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO BRAND, BUT RATHER YOUR DECISION AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER IS WHETHER OR NOT TO USE YOUR BRAND TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!

How’s that for a cliffhanger… I feel like we’ve established a solid foundation upon which to further investigate the truth behind the branding quandary. I know this has been a bit of a paradigm-shifting exercise, but we marketers need that sometimes. I hope you’ll let the implications of this sink in over the course of the coming week, and join me next week as we delve into greater detail of the Great Brand Debate.

Unless you are tuning in via the website, you’ll hear a beep at the end of the call, at which point I invite you to leave me your thoughts and/or feelings about this week’s teleseminar. You may also leave a message that clearly states your name and address if you would like to receive a free copy of the Lash Marketing credentials pack (which includes a free bonus section ripe with marketing techniques that will make you more money.)

As always, you are welcome to dial Lash Marketing at 724-960-1116 to speak with me directly. That’s 724-960-1116.Seriously, give the number a call because I love talking about this stuff. Again, the number is 724-960-1116.

Finally, I hope that you’ll check back Sunday, June 12 for the next installment of the branding telesemiar when we’ll discuss Northwestern professor and marketing sage Philip Kotler as well as Guerrilla Marketer Jay Conrad Levinson’s feelings on branding.

Thanks for stopping by. Now go on and whip your sales into shape.”