As I was thinking about what to blog about, I had my guilty pleasure “The Real Housewives of New York” on television in the background. One of the real housewives, Ramona, was bored and so she had developed a skin care line. I have no idea if the products are any good, but I agree with her friend who lectured Ramona about her brand. The skin care line had a product with “Tru” and another one with “True.” She told Ramona that she needed to figure out which way she wanted to spell true and stick with it for all of the products. Brands must be carefully developed and protected.
Although maybe the real housewife had something, could you develop a successful skin care line brand by spelling words in product names in more than one way? For example, there could be: “Coffee Cream” and “Koffee lipstick”; and “Berry Surprise Cream” and “Berri Blush”
Maybe the wealthy real housewife had just returned from Japan where the Muji company does not brand its products. It follows the “no brand branding” philosophy (as does American Apparel). Muji means “no label” in English. Rather than advertising, Muji obtains business through word of mouth. Muji’s “no brand branding” philosophy has actually developed a distinct brand for the company.
What do you think?