How Solid Is Your Brand?

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But it was hard to believe that a fast-food joint could do a good job serving expensive dinners, and Burger King wisely abandoned the idea. McDonald's (MCD) tried to sell pizza a few years back and found that it, too, was too much of a stretch for the brand. Now, Subway and Dunkin' Donuts are also in the pizza game. We'll see how long it lasts.

Believability is one of the problems of pursuing a line extension strategy. A brand that works great in one category doesn't necessarily work in others. Sometimes you can stretch a brand so thin that it rips.

Credibility. Credibility is believability's close cousin. Whatever promise you make has to be consistently delivered upon or it will flop, no matter how strong the positioning. Last week, I stayed at a big hotel chain that trumpets its new slogan with great pride: "Be Hospitable." Yet when I called the front desk to request a late checkout because of a meeting I was attending in their conference center, I had to argue with the clerk to get just one additional hour. What do you think I'm going to remember every time I see their ads? An empty promise.

Listen to what Jim McDowell, vice-president for marketing at BMW North America (BYMOF), says about the credibility of his brand. "There's nothing more important than the brand and what the brand stands for. Everything we do is about strengthening the brand. For 25 years we haven't changed who we are or what our tagline is. A BMW is the 'Ultimate Driving Machine.' We've interpreted it in different ways and demonstrated it through different models, but that fundamental idea has never varied. If you want to be really vivid with precise edges in the marketplace, you have to have the discipline to prune away relentlessly all the things that you're not. Few marketers have this discipline. We can all name the ones who do. And their brands are famous, trusted, and reliable."

Defensibility. Finally, even if your positioning passes all of the above tests, it won't do any good if a bigger competitor can swoop in and take it from you. That's why it's so important to focus on a narrow position and seize it with everything you've got. The longer and more effectively you have established your brand's positioning, the harder it will be for someone to mimic or co-opt it.

Gatorade (PEP) has been able to maintain a commanding market share of as much as 80% despite the best efforts of its competitors. Gatorade was first in the category, relentlessly pursued its positioning as "the athlete's thirst quencher,", and built a franchise in consumers' minds.

The strongest brands are those that find ways to stay relevant, simple, different, believable, credible, and defensible. If your brand is weak in one or more of the six characteristics, take steps to address it now. And if it's strong, keep an eye out for the shifting sands on which all brands stand. If there's one thing that's certain about branding, it's that change is constant.

Steve McKee is president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, an agency that specializes in businesses with ad budgets under $10 million. He writes his sales and marketing column every month.