Branding in the Fourth Dimension

Many new entrepreneurs agree that establishing a brand is absolutely critical to long-term, sustainable growth.

And then comes the question of doom to the marketing consultant:

“So, um, how much does a logo cost?”

Yeesh. This is where I begin to feel like Klaatu, the alien robot from another dimension, who freaks out the entire planet in “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” For those of you who missed the movie, Klaatu pretty much blows everyone’s mind by doing weird things like making gasoline out of strawberries, or something like that. In any case, it’s Klaatu’s fourth-dimensional perspective on things that eventually inspire Earth’s citizens’ awe and admiration.

Then, of course, the air force tries to blow him up.

Nevertheless, Klaatu’s mantle can help explain that real, honest-to-goodness brands—brands with big muscles and plenty of hair on their backs—don’t restrict themselves to onedimensional things like logos and letterhead. They’re intelligent life forms from the fourth dimension that can transform your business at warp speed.

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. For example, it could be a beautiful photo-rendering of Zippy the Gearhead proudly proclaiming, “Spacely Sprockets.” That’s fi ne. But looks alone 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 the company is called Spacely Sprockets, but what about the other stuff you make? The anti-matter gasket seals? 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 I can think of 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 employees take pride in the work they do. This simple act reassures Mercedes owners that their car purchase was a good one—and that their next one is a no-brainer.

Finally, we get to the fourth dimension, my personal favorite, where the gravitational pull of market forces stretch and shape your brand, producing relevance your prospects find intriguing. It can be a quality claim or 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 for whatever it is you’re selling.

And if your brand is really killer, it can make us like you while you’re doing it. Federal Express did that by showing us that they knew the tortures customers endure when packages don’t arrive on time. And they spoke to us in a way nobody else did.