How to Maintain Brand Focus

I've mentioned the importance of maintaining focus in your product and marketing efforts. But what if you have a great idea for a new product? Should you dispense with it just because it might cause you to lose focus?

For example, what if you own a successful high-end Italian restaurant called "Filomarino". You recognize a market for a fast-food Italian restaurant. You might be tempted to extend the brand and create a new restaurant called "Filomarino Express". That name might give the fast-food restaurant an immediate boost, but it will also cause the Filomarino brand to lose its focus. Diners who associated the Filomarino name with sophistication or quality will be forced to re-evaluate what "Filomarino" means to them. The high-end restaurant will likely suffer as a result.

Fortunately, you can create a new brand for the fast-food restaurant, even if it is has the same owner and executive chef. You will have to start the branding effort from scratch, but your potential rewards are much greater. Two focused brand names for separate products tend to be much more powerful than a single brand name name with no focus. Power in brand names drives people to buy your products.

Comments

bob said…

Go and buy a copy of Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler. It meets its billing as "A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands".

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471213268/103-1671791-6632624?v=glance&n=283155)

Mon Feb 13, 04:13:00 PM 2006

Roger L. Cauvin said…

Thanks for the book recommendation, Bob. I just ordered it from Amazon.

Mon Feb 13, 04:29:00 PM 2006

Brian Lawley said…

In this example Hellmans would be wise to exploit their "Full Fat" brand. Imagine the campaigns they could have run with a "Why settle for something that doesn't taste like the real thing" message. They probably would have doubled their sales. :-)

Fri Aug 17, 03:24:00 PM 2007

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