'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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• The best middle name ever

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

If your company or product were a fictional character, who would it be? It's one of the questions I ask when trying to determine the intended brand perception for a client. And I get more than my share of rolled eyes from the engineers in the room.

But consider your own response to this question: If you were thirsty, where would you likely find an ice-cold Obama? Next to the Dr. Pepper or nearer the energy drinks?

If you called your friend, would you expect to pick up and dial the McCain or are you more likely to just go online and 'poke' them on Obamabook? Maybe you'd discuss the McCain supertanker that is caught in a storm off the gulf coast, or the latest music player from iObama.

You can think about this when you pick up a snack of some organic dried fruit at Obama Foods for your flight to Chicago on McCain Airways.

Okay, the whole thing is silly. But now reverse that:

If you were thirsty, where would you likely find an ice-cold McCain? Next to the Dr. Pepper or nearer the energy drinks?

If you called your friend, would you expect to pick up and dial the Obama or are you more likely to just go online and 'poke' them on McCainbook? Maybe you'd discuss the Obama supertanker that is caught in a storm off the gulf coast, or the latest music player from iMcCain.

You can think about this when you pick up a snack of some organic dried fruit at McCain Foods for your flight to Chicago on Obama Airways.

Relatively speaking, the former made more sense, didn't it? And it proves out the power of branding on not only our perceptions of products, but perceptions of our leaders, our friends, and ourselves.

This important article was sent to me by a designer with whom I do much of Strategy180's branding work. It underscores the power of branding and how it may not only impact the can of soup we put in our grocery basket, but the future leadership of the world's last great superpower.

Perhaps now you might want to budget for that branding study, yes?

Pepsi for Obama?

Here's the new look for Pepsi. I know I'm not alone in recognizing the logo as something strikingly familiar to a select number of yard signs around town this time of year. Pepsi and Obama - are both the choice of a new generation?

Frankly, the design does nothing for me, as I'm old enough to recognize the type design as something retro from the time when my college roommate was experimenting with 'Flock of Seagulls' hair, and my sister wrote her 'e's like that back in the late 70s. Alternatively, there is something modern and Anglo/European about the look, so the ads for this sugar water may eventually feature sublime smiles, pastel dress shirts and objectionable ties.

In an interesting use of new(est) media, to get the word out Pepsi released the design to thought leaders in social media. So the fact that now I'm blogging about it means the new look is viral. I'm officially a marketing virus.

(Photo courtesy Peter Shankman)