Fabled advertising exec, John Hegarty, said it well:

“A brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world: a corner of someone’s mind.”

But occupying that corner is very difficult. Our minds are such busy, cluttered places, after all.

Enter: Luke Sullivan.

“I propose the only antidote to clutter is draconian simplicity,” Sullivan writes in his classic marketing book, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This.

“Draconian simplicity involves stripping your brand’s value proposition down to the bone and then again to the marrow, carving away until you get down to Brand = Adjective.”

As a marketer, you want your brand to LIVE in your prospect’s brain. You want permanent residence! But that can only happen if you boil down what you stand for (especially if you’re a young brand).

So stand for one thing, one word, one adjective (preferably). 

More will only add to The Clutter.  

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Sullivan gives a great example in his book:

“Jeeps, they’re tough,” he writes. “Porches, they’re fast. Volvos, they’re… what? If you said, ‘safe,’ you’ve given the same answer I’ve received from every person I’ve ever asked. Ever.”

This means Volvo has ubiquitously branded itself as the “safe” car. The car you want your kids to drive. 

Volvo = Safe.

Brand = Adjective.

What’s your brand’s adjective? 

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WRITE BETTER.
MARKET BETTER.
SELL MORE.

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Judge not lest ye be judged.