Me, Myself, and I, Inc.

Have you ever stopped to think about what your brand would be, if you had one?

Mine would be a blend of musicality, creativity, opportunity, hard work, and ambition. It would be the person I am, just emphasizing more of my qualities. My brand would love to read and take classes, play the cello while being in the marching band, do arts and crafts, and go to Disney. My brand is excited, fun-loving, open-minded, and optimistic.

Would I be a socially responsible company? Yeah, probably. I'd get involved in issues I cared about, probably helping sponsor events such as Dance Marathons at college campuses and helping causes that really meant something to me.

In an economic recession, would I increase fees, or would I come up with offers that would not only help stimulate some hope in the world but also give consumers a reason not to fear my product?

Guess I'll have to find that one out when I start to own my own company. But taking from that, AdAge posted an article a couple days ago about companies that are actually making it work in the state of depression we're in right now, and it's all about branding. Not to bring this up again, but all of these companies- JetBlue, Hyundai, XBox360, Bounty, and Miller HighLife- have all done something that has helped not just to sell, but to inspire hope and decrease the fear of spending. For example, Hyundai has put out an offer that if customers buy a car and then lose their jobs, they can return the car. Who knows if people will actually return their newly-bought cars, but the offer itself served to differentiate Hyundai from the rest of the declining automobile market. JetBlue, in the face of rising fees from other airline companies, has offered unlimited snacks and free DirecTV during the flight in their "Happy Jetting" program.

As a counter-example, Tropicana recently changed their logo, making it different from the orange with a straw sticking out of it that consumers have grown to know and love. Because of this, sales have declined 20% in the last month or so, and now company executives are discussing how to get the old logo back on the market. Gatorade's new G2 logo and brand hasn't worked for them either, and lately has become food for Powerade's "don't have an incomplete sports drink" campaign.

All's fair in love and war, and if we really think about it, advertising is a kind of constant battle. Who can be the most differentiated? Who can make the offer that no one else in that entire product category has made? And who can provide hope in an age of despair, merely through a simple sentence in a print ad?