Brand Focus

In the last chapter we learned about owning a word or concept in the minds of consumers. We learned that being “first-to” exploit a word or concept along a product category is key in getting into consumers’ minds. We learned that maintaining ownership of this word or concept in their minds required alignment in many activities. The owned word must be in line with the company’s core competence. The products and services must be consistent with the word or concept or this will lead to customer confusion and dilution of the meaning of the brand. In this chapter, we will discuss more about the importance of maintaining a brand focus and the implications when companies deviate from that focus. This discussion will be consistent with the upper right quadrant of the branding icon. If the reader can recall, the symbol for the upper right quadrant was the bull’s-eye, which represents category focus.