OPINION - Words and brands

While driving to work the other day, I heard a radio spot advertising a local marketing company – I won’t say their name here. What caught my attention was the advice they “pitched.” Here’s the gist of it.

Always use words that end in “EST” when describing your business, product or service. Basically, “brand” yourself or your business by staking a claim in the “superlative” territory, THEN, no one else can horn in on you. And all you need to do once you’ve done this is to make sure that you live up to the claim (end of ad).

Wow, I thought. Is that really IT? Is this the secret to attracting more customers? Is staking a claim prior to actually BEING what you claim? Oh yeah, don't forget the necessary follow-through to BECOME what you claim (and you better become it quick if your going to claim it in your advertising). I suppose a “first mover” company could take this strategy, since there would be no initial competition. Think about this though, if I were to claim that George Fox University Boise Center had the highest retention rate of any university campus in the U.S., I would need to substantiate this claim, FIRST. Read more HERE.