A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.

Successful brands get into the mind slowly. A blurb in a magazine. A mention in a newspaper. A comment from a friend. A display in a retail store. After a slow buildup, people become convinced that they have known about the brand forever.

A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.

It's the first company to build the mental position that has the upper hand, not the first company to make the product. IBM didn't invent the computer; Sperry Rand did. But IBM was the first to build the computer position in the prospect's mind.

Positioning is how you differentiate yourself in the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect.

Today, communication itself is the problem. We have become the world's first overcommunicated society. Each year we send more and receive less.

What's your brand? If you can't answer that question about your own brand in two or three words, your brand's in trouble.