A Mercifully Brief History of Branding, Part II

There was once a young toy maker named Raoul. He was content to spend his days crafting fine playthings for the children in his little town of Söusaphoön. He made a very modest income.

What Raoul didn’t know was that the world was on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. Many small businesses were completely unprepared for the change of the commercial climate. But being an astute young man, Raoul quickly learned how to expand his business by hiring more employees and using new practices to streamline his manufacturing and distribution processes.

Before he knew it, Raoul was making a much higher profit than ever before (a margin that was boosted even further by the number of children employed at his factory). He put many smaller, local toy makers out of business and expanded his market to several major cities. But with this new-found success, he had a new set of problems.

He had one major competitor: the toy maker Toulouse. To the common eye, Toulouse’s toys were the same as those produced at Raoul’s factory. But in actuality, Toulouse was a lousy craftsman out to make a quick buck. His wooden ducks barked, and the dolls had no legs.

Raoul needed a way to combat his competitor and win over customers. He had a modest budget on hand, so he turned to a marketing firm, probably the first of its kind. Let’s call it Agency Orange.

Agency Orange made a great brand, and executed it by pushing out a sharp new campaign: “Raoul’s Toys: Better than Toulouse’s,” designing packaging that featured a slick new logo, and hiring men to stand on street corners wearing those sandwich signs that people wore back then.

Toulouse dismissed Raoul’s efforts as a waste of resources. But he soon found (stupid Toulouse!) that he couldn’t compete with the brand recognition and warm fuzzies that customers had for Raoul’s brand. In fifteen years, Raoul was the unchallenged Steve Jobs of toy making.

Although Raoul and his toy business are completely fictitious, this is how many of the greatest brands developed through the 1800’s. We can trace Prudential Insurance, Colgate, Coca-Cola, and innumerable others as they created and developed their own unique brands over time. In each case, the formula rings true: a brand combined with consistent application over time equals success.

At Fireman Creative, we prepare businesses for “the long run” by branding them in a way that will not only target their market in the here and now, but will also evolve to fit future needs. That way, when a Raoul or Raoula comes to us with an amazing product that outshines his competition, we can make sure it’s reflected in all of his or her marketing efforts.