Brand Demand: Creating the Holy Grail

“Most people believe that a great launch starts with a great product. They’re wrong. Being ‘great’ isn’t enough and a product is merely the starting point. The reality is that the overall brand experience must be so perfectly suited to the needs and desires of its customer, that it creates its own demand and very little selling needs to be done. In a new series of articles, Neil Osborne explains how to turn a product range into a brand, which thrives.

Let’s be clear on one thing from the start. Having a great idea for a product range doesn’t ensure its success. In fact, in some select cases it’s not even necessary. But by building your new product range into a brand, it can potentially determine the survival of your business.

The successful mainstream brands in our industry are built into a total ‘experience.’ They’re not individual products or short ranges that just take up shelf space. Having been made from many elements working together, every time a customer is touched it brings to life the heart, soul and story of those brands.

Another clarion call for this series is that a brand is not one single action, image or product. It’s an amalgam. Brands are built in layers, over time, with each successive overlay strengthening the total structure. The seven brand building blocks (see inset) – none of which individually ensure success – must be melded together to effectively build a thriving brand…”