Hello, branding superstar,
According to marketing strategist Al Ries, successful branding is based on the concept of ‘singularity’.
The aim is to create a perception in the customer’s mind that there is no other product (or service) on the market quite like yours.
Ries is one of the world’s best-known marketing strategists and the co-author of the legendary book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.
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With his daughter, Laura, he outlined the definitive rules for building an outstanding brand in the book The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding.
Here’s a summary of those laws to help you sharpen your strategy:
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
1. The Law of Expansion: The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope. When you put your brand name on everything, that name loses its power.
E.g. In the 1980s, Pierre Cardin was an upmarket French fashion house. Seeking to grow revenue, the brand began an aggressive licensing campaign. Its logo appeared on everything from cigarettes to baseball caps. The result? The brand went from a luxury brand to a discount-bin staple.
2. The Law of Contraction: A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus. Good things happen when you contract your brand rather than expand it.
E.g. The burger market is incredibly crowded, with many chains trying to win by adding salads, wraps, etc. Five Guys refuses to do so. They just do burgers, fries, and shakes. By doing one thing exceptionally well, they built a cult-like following.
3. The Law of Publicity: The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising. A new brand must generate media interest to survive
E.g. The Body Shop became a major global brand with virtually no advertising, relying entirely on good PR.
4. The Law of Advertising: Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy. Advertising is the ‘maintenance’ fee to prevent losing market share to competitors.
E.g. Coca-Cola spends $5 billion per year on advertising to defend its position against competitors!
5. The Law of the Word: A brand should strive to own a single word in the mind of the consumer.
E.g. Rolls-Royce owns the word ‘luxury,’ while Volvo owns the word ‘safety.’
6. The Law of Credentials: The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity. Customers value ‘the genuine article’.
E.g. Jack Daniel’s relentlessly promotes the legend of Jack and its deeply southern story.
7. The Law of Quality: Quality is important, but brands are not built by quality alone. A strong brand creates the perception of quality.
E.g. Rolex watches are perceived as high-quality largely because of their high price and name, not just their time-keeping accuracy.
8. The Law of the Category: A leading brand should promote the category, not the brand. Expanding the category increases the leader’s sales. Byron Sharp approves!
E.g. Before 1938, diamonds weren’t the standard for engagement rings. During the Great Depression, sales were cratering. De Beers didn’t market ‘De Beers Diamonds’; they marketed the idea of the diamond engagement ring.
9. The Law of the Name: In the long run, a brand is nothing more than a name. A unique name is essential for distinction.
E.g. Xerox is a powerful name because it is short, unique, and distinctive, unlike generic names.
10. The Law of Extensions: The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything. Line extensions often erode the core brand.
E.g. BIC is the world leader in ‘disposable, cheap, functional plastic’ (pens, lighters, razors). In the late 80s and 90s, they launched BIC Pantyhose and BIC Perfume. The Result? Total rejection. People associate BIC with cheap plastic, not something they want to spray on their neck or wear on their skin.
11. The Law of Fellowship: In order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands. Competition increases consumer interest in the category.
E.g., Red Bull and Monster Energy together make the energy drinks market larger and more interesting than it would be if either existed alone.
12. The Law of the Generic: One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name. Generic names fail to differentiate.
E.g. In the late 70s and early 80s, dozens of retailers popped up with names like The Computer Store, Computerland, or Personal Computer Corp. These names were perfectly descriptive. You knew exactly what they sold. But they were invisible because they sounded like the industry itself.
13. The Law of the Company: Brands are brands; companies are companies. Consumers buy brands, not companies.
E.g. Ben & Jerry’s is the brand consumers buy, even though Unilever is the company.
14. The Law of Subbrands: What branding builds, subbranding can destroy. Subbranding confuses the customer.
E.g. Holiday Inn confused customers by trying to go upscale with Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza.
15. The Law of Siblings: There is a time and a place to launch a second brand. Sibling brands should maintain unique individual identities.
E.g. Wrigley successfully markets distinct gum brands like Big Red, Doublemint, and Juicy Fruit, rather than family extensions.
16. The Law of Shape: A brand’s logotype should be designed to fit the eyes. The ideal shape is horizontal.
E.g. FedEx’s ‘The Arrow’ logo. By being horizontal, they could hide an ‘arrow’ in the negative space between the E and the x. This wouldn’t work vertically.
17. The Law of Colour: A brand should use a colour that is the opposite of its major competitor’s.
E.g. Uber is black, so Lyft used pink. Hertz is yellow, so Avis used red.
18. The Law of Borders: There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should keep its narrow focus in its home country but go global.
E.g. Heineken became a global success by exporting its narrow focus on beer.
19. The Law of Consistency: A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades. Markets may change, but brands should not.
E.g. ‘The ultimate driving machine’ works for BMW because they have been saying it since 1974.
20. The Law of Change: Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and very carefully. Change is usually only possible if the brand is weak or doesn't exist in the mind yet.
E.g. In the early 2000s, Netflix was ‘the DVD-by-mail company’. But as internet speeds increased, they shifted to streaming. It worked because they moved while the brand was still ‘young’ enough in the collective consciousness.
21. The Law of Mortality: No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution. New technologies often require new brands.
E.g. The name Phillip Morris was synonymous with cigarettes and negative health associations. The company didn’t try to rebrand cigarettes as healthy. Rather, it moved the parent company under a new name: Altria. It allowed the corporation to distance its diversified holdings from the tobacco giant's dying brand.
22. The Law of Singularity: The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness. A brand is a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect.
E.g. For years, Domino’s didn’t claim to have the best pizza, just the fastest (30 mins or less).
The takeaway?
The ultimate goal of branding is to own a singular idea in the mind of the customer.
While the temptation to expand, extend, and complicate your brand is always present, the most successful companies are those that narrow their focus, stay consistent, and fiercely protect their brand’s identity.
Happy brand building,
Chris & the 42courses team x
