Sure, there are still some iconic brands. Apple, Nike, Coke.
But those are giant companies. They go by different rules.
For the rest of us mortals, does the traditional idea of a brand — an iconic emotional shortcut that lets customers identify with a product — make any sense anymore?
Won’t smart, lean, agile little companies eat the big, lazy brands up?
After all, a village business doesn’t need a brand, right?
Well . . .
The direct marketing view
A lot of direct marketers like to mock branding and “awareness” advertising as a self-indulgent waste of time.
Brilliant direct response copywriters like Eugene Schwartz and Gary Bencivenga were master harpooners. They only had one shot at their prospect, and that’s all they needed to create millions of dollars in sales.
They didn’t need a “brand halo” to make their products look good. Their copywriting created a complete experience within a single brightly-colored envelope. To rely on a brand to do the selling for you was almost .
