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Scott Randall is the president of New York-based Brand Games, a youth marketing company that pioneered branded videogames as a messaging and brand building platform in 1995. Scott is an innovator and thought leader on entertainment marketing strategies, and consults General Motors, Kellogg's, Taco Bell, GAP, Reebok, General Mills on re-aligning marketing strategies for digital consumers. Scott has won design and marketing awards from the Association of Graphic Arts, Art Direction Magazine, the Interactive One Show, and the WebAwards.

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Branding Begins at Home: Weaving a Metaphorical Marketing Tale of Fundamental Branding

Written on
Aug 31, 2006 
Author
Scott Randall  |
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Branding Begins at Home: Weaving a Metaphorical Marketing Tale of Fundamental Branding

So, with this on my mind, I started to think about our little hauling crew in Chinatown.

I imagined that The Busy had won the job of pulling that heavy thing from the basement. He had his head down — attending to the job at hand. All his energy was directed towards this task. He was “in charge” and it mattered to him that the job was completed. He worked diligently but, sadly, wasn’t making much progress by himself.

The Confused — possibly next in the chain of command — knew what the job was too — get the heavy thing out of the basement. That they were significantly less invested in the success of the operation that The Busy. Although they were “pulling” on the rope, their real effort was going into the debate they were having between themselves. Their only real involvement and interaction with The Busy was the occasional reassurance to him that, “We are pulling!”

The Dreamer — Possibly a college student in a temporary job, he was, understandably, contemplating some idea or concept vastly more engaging than four men doing a mediocre job of pulling something heavy out of a basement.

My mind began to race. What if this whole scene had unfolded differently? What if The Busy took a long-term view of the business of pulling heavy things from basements and realized that it and he were going to get old pretty quickly – that, at some point, his physical ability would wane and his livelihood with it.

What if, in a flash of inspiration, he decided that he wanted to build a long-term business with a future? What if he decided to quickly become the volume and price leader in his segment – pulling more heavy things out of more basements, in less time for less money than anyone in Chinatown?

To accomplish this, The Busy (now The Productive) would have to spend some of the time currently spent with his head “in the basement” figuring out how to do his job better and cheaper instead of just over and over. And, since his ability to do that depended largely on his staff, he would need to share his vision for the company with them to get their cooperation.

He gets their attention with an invitation to lunch at their favorite local spot. Crowded around a table slurping their favorite hot soup, they listen to his plan. Conversation begins. Debate ensues. Ideas unfold. Hands shake. An enterprise is born.

We now have four men on the sidewalk who have a future. They are in on the ground floor (no pun intended) of a growth business. It is in their interest to do anything they can to increase the business’ chances of success.

I began to imagine that inside the The Salesman’s brown box was a winch, which he had “found” behind a hardware store. Instead of brushing him off this time, The Confused (now The Innovators) recognize the winch as an enabling technology and engage The Salesman with their strategic goal for the company. The Salesman (now The Partner) responds: “You want winches? he asks. “I can get a steady supply of them cheap! And, I can get better ones that only require one operator.”

I began to imagine that The Dreamer (now The Enlightened) was no longer spending his workday gazing at bus ads and billboards, but writing his own copy instead. Armed with The Productive’s clearly communicated strategic vision, he pulled on the rope a little harder and occupied his mind with thoughts about marketing positions, slogans and ad campaigns for the new enterprise.

Then, we arrived at the airport.

I got out of the car with a smile on my face and the following thoughts:

• We need to get our heads out of the basement long enough to see where our brand is going and form a strategy.

• We need to communicate the brand vision to them in a way that captures their imaginations and solicits their input.

• We need to empower them to contribute to enterprise success.

Selling to customers is important — but branding begins at home!





Reader Comments.

What is the purpose of this lengthy and trivial nonsense?

We need to get our heads out of the basement…[and]… communicate the brand vision…{and] empower… [ourselves]?

“…[B]randng begins at home??

Indeed! I assume this author took his own advise in writing this puff piece.

Posted by Derick Harris | 3:05 pm on August 31, 2006.

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