Brand Matters!

This story about why brand matters was told to me several years ago.

The Creative Director of a large advertising agency was making a pitch to a prospective client. In the conference room were marketing and senior executives who were in New York to hear pitches to choose a new agency. The prospective client was an established consumer product company who felt it needed help, but didn’t know who, why and how. It was a great business, but historically was more focused on product than marketing.

The Creative Director pulled out of his briefcase two white t-shirts. He explained that both t-shirts were extremely high quality. They were made of 100% authentic Egyptian cotton. The thread count was high. The shirts were pre-shrunk, machine washable and very durable. The fabric was soft and very comfortable. He added that both t-shirts were manufactured in the same plant in China, with exactly the same materials, crew neck design and manufacturing specifications.

He asked the executives around the conference table to come-up to feel and touch both t-shirts. They all agreed they were excellent shirts, and looked and felt the same. Then the Creative Director told them, there is one difference between the two shirts. One sells for $5.00 retail and the second one sells for $25.00. And interestingly, the $25.00 t-shirt sells a whole lot more than the $5.00 one. The executives were puzzled?

The Creative Director dramatically flips the t-shirts over and exposes the front of the shirts. One t-shirt was plain, and the other one had the Nike Swish. He exclaimed, “That swish is worth $20. Yes, brand matters!”

During the rest of the meeting, he described how his agency specialized in building great brands.

Guess which agency won the business?