Branding versus fame

Building a well known company is not the same as building a brand.

Toshiba is an electronics company I am aware of. Apple is a brand.

JC Penney is a retail company that I am aware of. Walmart is a brand.

Atlantic City is a destination where I can gamble. Las Vegas is a brand.

Reebok is an athletic shoe company I am aware of. Nike is a brand.

Koss is a headphones company I am aware of. Beats is a brand.

Jim Beam is a whiskey I am aware of. Jack Daniel's is a brand.

A great brand is more than just a name I recognize. It's a name I know something about. A name I care about. A name that evokes images and associations that enhance the products to help lock its position in my brain and my heart.

Great brands stand for something and they deliver on it time and time again in their products, their policies, their actions and their communications.

That's why it's easy to become famous, but hard to become a brand.