Brands

Where Brands Began

 At PepsiCo, I worked with some of the greatest brand marketers on the planet, creative visionaries who oversaw iconic brands like Pepsi, Gatorade, and Doritos. We spent hours in meetings where the essence and even a brand's personality were debated. However, we never talked about the origin of the word "brand." When I retired, I moved from a house of brands to the land where brands were invented -- the Old West.

Most companies focus on attracting consumers to their brand, but we should not underestimate the devotion a powerful brand can have on the employees who work for it. The term comes from "firebrand," -- burning your symbol into things like an animal’s hide. Cowboys take great pride in the brand that they ride for. The cowboy poet Rod Steagall wrote, "A man's brand is his own special mark that says this is mine, leave it alone. You hire out to a man, ride for his brand, and protect it like it was your own."

How do we create such intense loyalty in our employees?  They must experience the ownership that comes from building it. My wife and I attempted this past week to instill ownership in our daughters by letting them help create our ranch’s brand and painting and hanging our sign.