Ending the Myth of Branding Buffoonery

Mountains of Arizona
Hot Again 90 Degrees
1:49 p.m.

All of the direct response books I read early on in my business career made fun of the idea of branding.

They talked about it like this worthless pursuit that “stupid” businesses wasted money on.

I imagine many of those experts had this view of branding simply because they themselves were SELLING the direct response approach to everything. Or maybe they just never took the time to understand what branding was about. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say that’s the reason.

But as I grew up and started thinking for myself, I realized just how valuable branding is.

Branding isn’t intended to lead directly to transactions TODAY. That’s not what it’s for. It’s for something far more important.

A clearer word for “brand” might be story. If you use that word, story, at least you know what you have to create. You have to create a story about you or your organization that resonates with other human beings.

Direct marketing is transactional. It’s about making the transaction happen.

You can make a lot of money focusing on the transaction, but you don’t create something that LASTS that way. Because ultimately, there’s nothing there except the transaction.

When you mix-in a little bit of direct response with a real brand, then you’ve got something powerful.

My experience is that the stronger and clearer the story, the less you have to worry so much about making the transactions happen.