Dedicated to the Eradication of Generic Brands

People love brands that fearlessly express their unique essence. And people are people - whether they are "consumers" or "business people" in any given moment.

I created Fearless Branding to help organizations leverage the full power of their brands. The work we do is based on an obsession with a few fundamental questions:

Why do some brands create powerful bonds with their best customers while most do not?

Think about brands like Nike, Apple, Tiffany and Polo. These brands resonate. They stand for something far greater than the products they offer.

What makes these great brands great? Is there a “secret sauce?”

Most importantly, the strongest brands create meaning for their best customers. That meaning is precise. It is usually based on an archetype or a feeling that is vitally important to the segment of the market the brand is targeting. For example, Apple’s best customers want to feel creative when they use a computer (or a digital music player.)

Also, an organization actually needs to do or make something different than the competition in order to deliver its promise. Most companies have this functional differentiation – but, as I have seen many times, management is often too close to its own work and customers to identify it precisely. That’s where Fearless Branding can help.

The “Fearless” part comes when an organization realizes that to stand for something specific and meaningful, it needs to make sacrifices. To resonate deeply with its best customers, it can no longer be generic. Defining a company’s “self” takes courage.

That’s why I launched Fearless Branding and developed Brand Vision - to ask organizations the provocative questions that result in clarity about who they really are and the real value they provide to their best clients.

When organizations complete Brand Vision and the Brand Value Builder process, they have more courage – more fearlessness – because they know that they have laid a solid strategic foundation. When they’ve “put their stake in the ground," they're sure it’s in the right place.

If this journey intrigues you and you would like to explore creating more fearlessness in your own brand, I invite you to contact me.

Wishing you courage and clarity,

Robert Friedman