Branding Information

Santa - The Brand


Every Christmas Eve, a burglar named Santa busts into homes around the world, but he has never been charged with B&E. He has one of the best, most positive brands around and it continues to inoculate him against any hint of impropriety, as it has for generations.

Why does Santa's brand remain so strong? Because Santa is:

? Consistent

? Unique

? Customer-focused

? Viral

Let's examine these to see what lessons we can learn.

First off, Santa has a positioning statement and has used it to stay true to his mission for decades.

It is this consistency that has helped him build a brand franchise that is the envy of other marketers. No matter what kind of communication vehicle he uses, the message is measured against the positioning statement.

Fed-Ex and UPS also deliver packages, but they don't do it in the middle of the night in a sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer. Santa has cornered the market on uniqueness.

He has not strayed from the market he identified in his positioning statement. His target is not every carbon-based life form. He focuses on kids. End of story. Talk about customer intimacy. Santa has perfected data mining.

Who else knows if you:

? are sleeping or awake

? want a Barbie or a baseball bat

? have been naughty or nice

Santa invented viral marketing. As his customers get older and become parents, they market to the emerging group of customers for him. They know that if they deliver Santa's message, they will benefit from their children's good behavior.

And it's not just the parents. Other marketers help him, too. Santa has never spent a dime on advertising. He has used good public relations tactics to develop, manage and maintain solid relationships with marketers who advertise for him. Consider the Coca-Cola ads featuring Mr. Claus. Think of all the newspaper inserts that carry his picture during the holidays. Then, there are all those helpers in department stores everywhere.

Because of his adherence to simple marketing tactics, everyone loves Santa. Not bad for an old burglar with a reindeer fetish.

Harry Hoover has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses. Sign up for his free monthly newsletter at http://www.hoover-ink.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Pendleton Woolen Mills Launches New Branding Campaign Created by ...
MarketWatch - 12 hours ago
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct 13, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- One of Oregon's oldest and best- loved companies has launched a new image and branding campaign ...


Tightwad Bank: A Lesson in Branding
TheStreet.com - 5 hours ago
Sometimes it's all in a name. Six-month-old Tightwad Bank in Tightwad, Mo., uses the double-take factor to drum up business without even trying. ...


Relations PR & Marketing Named Agency of Record for A Benefit To ...
MarketWatch - 12 hours ago
The Florida based firm will also be responsible for branding and publicity surrounding the launch of the company. A Benefit To You is a group of ...


Superyacht Times

New branding for Ocean Independence
Superyacht Times, Netherlands - 2 hours ago
Wowing industry colleagues and Clients alike the new branding and chic colour palette received high praise from all quarters. ...


Email Branding Guidelines -- Where Are They?
Mediapost.com, NY - 7 hours ago
When it comes to developing designs, branding guidelines are an essential tool for copywriters and designers in making sure the messages across various ...


Successful branding requires a consistent message
Idaho Business Review, United States - 8 hours ago
You must have a brand and a message, and push both consistently and incessantly. You must also point out the distinctions between you and your competition. ...


AIG Laboratories' AIT Unveils New Branding Image
TAXI Design Network, NY - 9 hours ago
AIT Laboratories, a leading forensics, pain management, clinical, and pharmaceutical testing facility, is launching a new brand identity campaign, ...


E4 to drop branding for zombie drama
Broadcastnow, UK - 9 hours ago
Endemol-owned indie Zeppotron requested to screen the drama without E4's branding to avoid confusing viewers as the action switches between scripted scenes ...
Charlie Brooker talks to us about Dead Set Den Of Geek
all 2 news articles


Ad Firms, Already Lean, Are Cutting Their Payrolls
Wall Street Journal - 18 hours ago
Landor, a branding firm owned by WPP Group, laid off about 10 employees from its London office. TBWA/Chiat/Day, a unit of Omnicom Group, last week dismissed ...


코리아타임즈

Re-Branding Korean Tourism
코리아타임즈, South Korea - Oct 12, 2008
This is the third in a series of articles highlighting ways of upgrading Korea’s image and brand from international ‘Nation Brand’ experts on the ...

Branding - Google News

home | site map
© 2006