by Al Ries

The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope.

When you put your brand name on everything, that name loses its power.

A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.

A powerful branding program always starts by contracting the category, not expanding it.

The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising.

The best way to generate publicity is by being first – the first brand in a new category.

Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy.

Brand leaders advertise their leadership. Leadership is the single most important motivating factor in customer behavior.

A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.FedEx = Overnight deliveryKleenex = TissueXerox = Copy

The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity.

Customers are suspicious.

Coke – “It’s the real thing.”

Quality is important, but brands are not built on quality alone.

Sometimes expressed through a higher price and accompanying feature that seems to justify the price.

A leading brand should promote the category, not the brand.

In the long run, a brand is nothing more than a name.

The difference between brands is not in the products, but in the product names – the perception of the names.

The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything.

To build the category, a brand should welcome other brands.

Healthy competition brings more customers to the category.

One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name.

Hard to differentiate a generic-named brand from competition.

Brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference.

What branding builds, subbranding can destroy.

There is a time and a place to launch a second brand.

A brand’s logo should be designed to fit the eyes – both eyes.

Horizontal shape provides maximum impact.

A brand should use a color that is the opposite of its major competitor’s.

There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders.

Crossing a border often does add value to a brand. The perception of where the brand comes from can add or subtract value.

A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years.

Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and only very carefully.

No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution.

The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness.

A brand is a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect.

A brand is a proper noun that can be used in place of a common word.