"Every brand should aim to own a word
in the minds of their customers."

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Brand and marketing legend Al Ries said that back in 1998. Does it still count today?

He pointed out that brands that had a key word at the heart of their value proposition had a much better chance of being remembered by potential customers. (It’s the embodiment of another of Al Ries’s principles, that a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.)

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Back then, he cited the following examples of brands owning words (some being US-reputations).

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Volvo = safety
BMW = driving
Kleenex = tissue
FedEx = overnight

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Those examples vary between product type, product/service features, and an experience. But they all represent a simple concept for the brand to be associated with.

Come into the present age, and Zoom enjoyed spectacular growth because it was in the right place at the right time (Covid 19 pandemic) and owned ‘online meeting’ in the minds of millions. It’s difficult to prove definitively that owning a word boosts business performance in the long-term. But it has definitely been linked to rapid growth for emerging brands. And brands like FedEx that abandoned their focused brand strategy have struggled as they expanded beyond their original memorable one-word focus.

Given that the whole principle of branding is to create a lasting memory in the minds of potential and existing customers, it makes sense that a key word associated with your brand promise is a good thing. We reckon it’s a good thing for the B2B SMEs and MSBs that we work with.

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When it comes to brand strategy: simplify and make it memorable.

It doesn’t have to remain a fixed word for ever. Smaller companies can afford to be agile. But for a period of ambitious growth, a key word (or couplet) associated with your brand proposition is powerful.

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And now you might turn the question on us. What word do we want Zing to be known for?
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Credibility.

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We build brand credibility for our clients to help them secure bigger wins.

Because you have to earn trust and confidence before customers will buy.

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