Grow the Core: How to Focus on your Core Business for Brand Success

Chapter 6

Workout 1: Bake the brand into your product

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The best place to start growing the core is with the core product or service. The challenge here is ‘baking in’ to the product the brand's distinctiveness. This could be done by uncovering and amplifying a brand truth that the brand already has. However, it may be necessary to upgrade the core, which can be done by giving the consumer more of what they want, taking existing benefits to new levels. Or, it may involve giving consumers less of what they don't want, removing or reducing negatives that could be barriers to trial and so restrict the core brand's penetration.

Some of the most inspiring examples of core brand growth I've seen and blogged about in recent years come from brands which have a zero advertising budget; brands such as The Geek Squad, Lush cosmetics and innocent smoothies. And these are not small brands. Several of them have grown their core business to more than £100 million in sales. But how is it possible to create a distinctive brand and drive penetration without any communication budget?

Bake in your brand – The Geek Squad

The key to using product to make your brand distinctive can be found in the words of Founder and ‘Chief Inspector’ of PC repair firm The Geek Squad, Robert Stephens: ‘Advertising ...