“Strategy should evolve out of the mud of the marketplace, not in the antiseptic environment of an ivory tower.”

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.

Good things happen when you narrow your focus.

It is better to have 50% of one market, instead of 10% of five markets.

Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect.

You need to allow enough time for this forgetting to take place

Your brand’s power lies in dominance.

Positioning is how you differentiate yourself in the mind of the prospect.

A branding program should be designed to differentiate your cow from all the other cattle on the range.

When a really new product comes along, it’s almost always a mistake to hang a well-known name on it.