Reading Time: 3 minutesDo you know those authors’ names you’ve read before, but you can’t remember where or when? Recently, Justin showed me a copy of an article written by Al and Laura Ries. Thinking about it now, I’ve probably quoted them in one or two of my college papers. And I still wasn’t able to relate them to a well-known best-seller called “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding“.
This classic marketing book is the extension of a very short article that wraps up the “rules” that make great brands great. Like any true classic, it is one of those books that evolves and grows with you. The more you read it, the more sense it makes. I would even say that, if you read it at different times, it will have different meanings each time you read it.
If you want to know more about Al and Laura Ries (yes, they are relatives), I recommend you to check their website. You can also check the same article I read here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Which one of the 22 immutable laws is most… immutable?
While we were talking, Justin challenged me to choose the immutable law that I considered most important. Although I really liked them all, I personally related to number 19, “The Law of Consistency”.
“19. The Law of Consistency: a brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years. Markets may change, but brands shouldn’t. Ever. They may be bent slightly or given a new slant, but their essential characteristics (once those characteristics are firmly planted in the mind) should never be changed. Markets may change, but brands should stay the same.”
The reason why I choose this one instead of any other was because I truly believe that it’s really hard to be consistent these days. In a digital world that keeps changing every minute, it is tempting to get off track and go for something that doesn’t make much sense just because it will get people’s attention.
When we are speaking about strategies and brands, we have to consider that they can’t be done in one day. Getting people’s attention is important, but neither attention nor interest are things that can be taken for granted. After all, everything is a process! We need time, consistency, and (most importantly) we need to keep being who we are – have an identity!
From my perspective, most companies focus on short-term results. A campaign must be successful no matter what. There’s someone’s reputation on the line. Personally… yes, small, isolated campaigns are important, but they all should be inside some bigger picture. That bigger picture is given by brand strategy. Like the article says, “markets may change”, but companies will keep being the same, no matter the campaign.
The Law of Word
I know I was supposed to choose just one law, but while I was coming to the office, I read a piece of news about Trump’s most recent scandal. Okay, maybe it’s already yesterday news, but it’s interesting to see that when people think about Sweden, they immediately relate it to a brand: Ikea.
“22. The Law of Singularity: the most important aspect of a brand is its single mindedness. Loss of singularity weakens a brand. What’s a brand? A proper word that can be used in place of a common word.”
That connection is so strong that people started using the hashtag “Je suis Ikea”. It’s a great example of the “Law of Word”, although I think Ikea would prefer to be connected to the word “furniture”.
Well… At least, in this case, we can quote the guy who said that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”.
