Successful Blog

  • Home
  • Community
  • About
  • Author Guidelines
  • Liz’s Book
  • Stay Tuned

Don’t Read Your PR, Read Your Marketing Copy

May 29, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

Diverse Portfolio

Customer Think Logo

A high-power company in educational publishing, bought three smaller companies and put them together. They think they offer a diverse portfolio. I think they offer a menu of bacon, ice-cream, tofu, and cognac. They are quite equipped to make the district-wide, state-wide sale. But rare is the sales rep who has the time or experience to speak to the details and nuances of the four individual product lines that they offer.

The Emperor has clothes bought by the bean counters. The bean counters think in BIG NUMBERS. The PR says that’s wonderful. The enterprise doesn’t see the world becoming niches and moving online.

The Umbrella Brand

Each of the small companies had a brand that was strong and thriving. The bacon was the superior bacon in the market. The tofu, the ice cream, the cognac were likewise. That’s the reason the big enterprise bought them. Then the big enterprise threw away each little company’s branding statements and gave them all one new “umbrella brand.” Here you go teachers. This is it.

Learning that Changes Lives

Changes lives how? in what way? for the better? . . . That’s not branding. That’s not even promotion. That’s empty air. An enterprise with four brands that don’t relate is a store not a brand, and their inability to make a branding statement that defines all four proves it.

The most telling part is that each time I want to quote that statment as an example, I have to look it up, because I can’t remember it. What does that say about the statement they’re making? How unremarkable is that?

Maybe the enterprise should put down their PR and read their marketing copy.

Maybe I’m just picking on details. What do you think?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles

See the Customer Think Series on the SUCCESSFUL SERIES PAGE.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Business Life, Customer Think, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Personal Branding, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blog_promotion, brand_loyalty, Brand_YOU_and_ME, business_promotion, Customer Think, customer_relationships, customer_think, personal_branding, personal-branding, promotion

Comments

  1. ann michael says

    May 29, 2006 at 2:20 PM

    Is there learning that doesn’t change lives? Isn’t that the whole point of learning. That’s like saying “Cars that get you somewhere”.

    Reply
  2. ME Strauss says

    May 29, 2006 at 3:38 PM

    My thoughts exactly. Branding that doesn’t say anything isn’t branding at all is it?

    Reply
  3. Advice Librarian says

    May 29, 2006 at 8:57 PM

    Well, there’s some articles I’ve gotten that made me feel stupider for having read them – I doubt that’s what they mean by their branding though.

    Well, at least one can hope.

    Reply
  4. ME Strauss says

    May 29, 2006 at 8:59 PM

    Well said Ad Lib. May not be what they meant, on the other hand they are in the business of teaching literacy. You would think they might know how to put forward words that have meaning. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recently Updated Posts

6 Keys to Managing Your Remote Workforce

9 Reasons To Use WordPress

Useful Marketing Tools That Wont Bust Your Budget

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful Blogger?

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful Blogger?

6 Tips for the Serial Side Hustler

How to Make Your Blog Popular



From Liz Strauss & GeniusShared Press

  • What IS an SOB?!
  • SOB A-Z Directory
  • Letting Liz Be

© 2023 ME Strauss & GeniusShared