“If this business were to be split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill and you could have all the bricks and mortar - and I would fare better than you.” – John Stuart, Former Chairman of Quaker Oats (1974)
A lot of companies make the mistake of throwing too much money at marketing without thinking enough about their brand. While paid media campaigns or billboard ads might attract attention, they won't retain it or convert as many customers if your brand isn't built with purpose. A company with a consistent, strong perception amongst audiences will always outperform competitors with the same marketing spend. That also means the same company can attain similar results as them while spending less.
This insight goes against a rather common misconception that building a brand is synonymous with simply spending more on marketing. Instead, this idea highlights how if you build your brand correctly, you won't have to market as much.
Before we submerge ourselves deeper into this concept, let's step back to establish common ground. It's both important to understand what a brand actually embodies, and how it differs from mere marketing material. We'll then dive into important metrics that help identify the strength of brands, and how it translates to savings on marketing costs.
