“It’s the first company to build the mental position that has the upper hand, not the first company to make the product.”

Each year we send more and receive less.

The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.

What should a brand leader advertise?

Advertising is the way great brands get to be great brands.

It’s better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.

That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect.

It creates in the mind of the prospect the perception that there is no product on the market quite like your product.

Even if all the cattle on the range look pretty much alike.

You have to reduce the essence of your brand to a single thought or attribute.

The new product, if it’s going to be successful, is going to require a new name. New ladder, new name. It’s as simple as that.

Only brand names register in the mind… What you should generally do is take a regular word and use it out of context to connote the primary attribute of your brand.

The reason is obvious. A well-known name got well-known because it stood for something. It occupies a position in the prospect’s mind. A really well-known name sits on the top rung of a sharply defined ladder.

An attribute that nobody else already owns in your category.

A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.

The real barrier (to building a brand) is the human mind.

If you want to build a brand, you must focus your branding efforts on owning a word in the prospect’s mind. A word that nobody else owns.