Branding in the Fourth Dimension

By: williamjones
July 1, 2009

By: Rob Frankel

I get about half of my business through the web, which is just fine by me. Nothing enables my agoraphobia quite like moneymaking opportunities plopping themselves down on my desktop via e-mail.

A number of inquiries are notes about someone’s business, how it’s beginning to grow and how they agree that establishing their brand is absolutely critical to long-term, sustainable growth.

And then comes the question of doom: “So, how much does a logo cost?”

Yes. This is where I begin to feel like Klaatu, the alien robot from another dimension, in The Day the Earth Stood Still. For those who missed the movie, Klaatu does weird things like make gasoline out of strawberries. In any case, it’s Klaatu’s fourth-dimensional perspective on things that eventually inspires Earth’s citizens’ awe and admiration.

Then, of course, the Air Force tries to blow him up.

Nevertheless, I often have to take up Klaatu’s mantle in order to explain that real, honest-to goodness brands don’t restrict themselves to one-dimensional stuff like logos and letterhead.

Branding in the first dimension tells people who you are. Its most basic species can be spotted as a full-color corporate symbol napping gently in the middle of your business card. Perhaps a beautiful photo-rendering of Zippy, the gear head, proudly proclaiming, “Spacely Sprockets.” That’s fine. But just as with your favorite supermodel, looks will only take you so far. They may identify who you are, but not much else.

Branding in the second dimension tells people what you do. Sure, we know from Zippy’s posture that your company is called Spacely Sprockets, but what about the other stuff you make? The antimatter gasket seals? The Dilithium Crystal-based lubricants? A real brand communicates all aspects of your business, so that when faithful gasket-seal buyers venture into the lubricant market, they seek out your brand first.

Branding’s third dimension communicates how you do what you do. The best down-to-earth example is an oil change. You know what you get when you take your Hyundai in for an oil change? New oil. You know what you get when you take your Mercedes in for an oil change? New oil and a beautifully washed car. True, you pay more, but you leave with more: the distinct impression that Mercedes takes real pride in the work they do, which reassures Mercedes owners that their car purchase was a good one.

Finally, the fourth dimension is where the gravitational pull of market forces stretch and shape your brand, producing a relevance your prospects find intriguing. It can be a quality claim, a product attribute, but whatever you choose, it has to be memorable, compelling and powerful enough to grab your prospects by the lapels, lift them off the floor and tell them they’d be complete dolts for choosing anyone other than you.

Rob Frankel (www.robfrankel.com) is a branding expert who builds and implements brands for start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. He’s appeared on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNN, FOX Business Channel and CNBC.

Carrier Connection: AAA

Just about anyone who drives a car has heard of AAA. The company’s brand is one of the strongest and most recognizable for roadside assistance, travel and auto products. However, AAA is extending that same universal recognition to its insurance products and is relying on its agents and Trusted Choice^® to get the word out.

AAA’s branding roots stem from1902, when 50 auto club groups joined under a single name as Ford was building the very first automobiles. Since then, AAA has branched out to its current, multi-faceted form. The company also sells auto, home and life insurance through independent agents across the country.

“Our branding situation is a little bit different, because AAA is such a strong brand,” says Vicki Hanson, assistant vice president of the Auto Club Group, a division of AAA based in the Midwest. “We’re very fortunate in that we don’t have to create the reputation of the brand, just protect it. We would like to expand knowledge that we sell insurance.”

Informing AAA’s 50 million members about its insurance offerings is a good start, but Hanson says the company is also trying to market outside its membership base through co-op advertising programs with its independent agents.

“I think the key to establishing a brand people really connect to is using something that is going to give them consistency,” says Hanson. “The AAA brand has been successful with that, and Trusted Choice^® helps to distinguish the independent agent brand in a similar way.”

—Veronica DeVore