'The' One and Only

Image by Taifighta via Flickr Middle names, excepting in cases like G. Gordon Liddy or F. Scott Fitzgerald, are an often overlooked nod to a favorite grandparent or distant cousin. But in his inimitable blog, Seth points out that there is a middle name in marketing circles the resonates above all others.

"The". As in Attila, The. Hun.

What an amazing shortcut to get to what we branding guys call a "Brand Essence". Proper nouns on the left, adjectives and nouns on the right, 'The' in the middle.

What is your company's "The"? What is it that you do so well, with such consistency and regularity, that you are the only one that does it or the one against all others are measured?

Barbarians are now and forever defined against the One True Barbarian: Conan. The Barbarian. Giants, they must measure up to Andre. Want to be Great? Alexander set the bar. Sports legacies are built on this sort of imagery. (Ali) The Greatest, George Ruth - The Babe, (Jack Nicholas) The Golden Bear, or Gretsky - The Great One (Alexander apparently has competition).

Arnold got a two-fer. The Terminator. Who became The Governator.

A few obvious brands that overtly use 'The' in their positioning come to mind: There's Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia. Coca-cola, The Real Thing. Or you might favor Pepsi, The Choice of a New Generation.

But you don't have to use the The to be a The, however. You just need to know what it is. For example, there's Google, which we all know is The Search Engine. But how do we know that's the 'The' if we don't use the 'the'? Because Google is now a verb, just as Kleenex is (to their chagrin) now a noun. It's the ultimate 'the'. Not to mention that no less a source than our ex-President Bush indicates that he likes to use 'the Google'.

Years ago when casting for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, it is rumored that the producers were looking to cast an actress 'like Tina Turner'. Finally they decided to cast the 'The'. Tina herself.

Be the The.

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