Slaying Sacred Cows

The myth of brand equity

At best ‘brand’ is a useful word. At worst, it’s a dangerously misleading management tool. It’s hard to talk about marketing without using the word brand (or one of its derivations). Believe me, I’ve tried! But in spite of (or, perhaps, because of) its useful nature, the word brand is functionally bankrupt. More often than […]

Slaying Sacred Cows

Countering the ‘promote to build brand equity’ argument

I’m often asked by clients how to cope with the ‘appeal to brand equity’ made frequently by (some) marketing people (particularly those selling advertising) in defense of promotional activities. (To review my position on ‘brand equity as a management metric’ you might like to read this article. The marketer’s position is typically as follows: We […]