The Power of a Brand

In reviewing how well branding can work, I have selected five (5) major brands that everyone is sure to know. Why will you surely know them? Because each of these companies has flawlessly applied the fundamentals of brand development to their marketing efforts, and they have achieved unmatched success in their competitive spheres.

Here are some startling facts about some of the biggest brands that you’ve heard of:

VISA

In 2005, Visa-branded card sales surpassed cash as a percentage of personal consumption expenditure (PCE).

In 1985, with the “It’s Everywhere You Want to Be” campaign, Visa launched the first comparative advertising campaign in the card payment industry.

Visa invests $200 million annually to develop and deploy state-of-the-art technology that fights fraud and protects cardholders, driving fraud within the Visa system to an all-time low in 2005 of just 5 cents per $100 transacted, despite the dramatic growth of Visa’s transaction volume to $1.3 trillion annually.

DUNKIN’ DONUTS

Dunkin’Donuts is the number-one retailer of coffee by the cup in America, selling 2.7 million cups a day.

Dunkin’ Donuts also sells more donuts, coffee, bagels, and muffins than any other quick-service restaurant in America.

On an average day, Dunkin’ Donuts sells more than 30 cups of freshly brewed coffee each second.

As part of the company’s commitment to offering more menu choices without compromising quality, the company has assembled a new culinary team, a lineup of skilled and honored chefs who are using their talent and experience to create new and innovative menu choices for customers. The culinary team’s mission is to provide Dunkin’ Donuts customers with the best tasting, most creative menu items that are fast, fresh, and affordable.

STATE FARM

State Farm has been the number-one insurer of cars in the United States since 1942 and the leading insurer of homes since 1964.

In 1971, Barry Manilow wrote the music for the jingle “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” The words were written by Keith Reinhard, ad legend and former CEO of DDB, State Farm’s long-standing ad agency.

Statefarm.com receives nearly 2 million unique visitors each month, consistently ranking among the most visited sites on the Web.

M&M’s

The original M&M’S brand color mix contained brown, yellow, red, orange, green, and violet candies.

The “M” imprint was not added to M&M’S Chocolate Candies until 1950 — in black. Today’s white “M” imprint was introduced in 1954.

A special machine imprints the “M” onto each M&M’S Chocolate Candy. The machine is carefully calibrated so as not to crack the candy shell.

Four to eight hours are needed to make an M&M’S Chocolate Candy, depending on the variety — Milk Chocolate, Peanut, Almond, Peanut Butter, or Crispy.

The original M&M’S Chocolate Candies were somewhat larger than today’s product and were sold in a tube for five cents.

The relationship between M&M’S and NASCAR is strong on many levels. The common thread between the two iconic brands is family. Both corporations have been part of American culture for more than a half century and to this day remain family run and operated.

NIKON

Nikon Instruments has been central to some of the most famous life science developments in recent history. Nikon’s diaphot microscope was used during the country’s first in vitro birth and is still the predominant microscope for assisted reproduction.

Many of the world’s most memorable photographic images over the past half century have been captured through the lens of a Nikon camera . . . from John Kennedy, Jr., saluting the passing casket at his father’s funeral, and the defiant Tiananmen Square student standing bravely in front of a military tank, to the fear in young Elian Gonzalez’s eyes as authorities approached.

A Nikon camera has been present on every manned NASA space flight since the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, capturing some of the most recognized images of planet Earth and astronaut activities in space.

A Nikon microscope was used in the cloning process for Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first successful fully grown mammal clone.

It’s amazing what a strong brand can achieve in terms of establishing a presence in the mind of consumers. While these companies are very large – the same branding techniques that they used to achieve success are there for you to use as well.

For more information on branding and how Rhythm Interactive can assist you, please contact us today!