Written by: Richa Chandra, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
This law has two parts. The first part is more in the minds and hearts, whereas the second part is more of a physical nature. While a brand should strive to own a place in the mind of customers, the makers of that brand should know how long they're willing to let it run. Since nothing lasts forever, and forever is a very long time; a graceful exit or euthanasia is often the solution to this, but again it should be strategic and not abrupt.
The law of contraction
The Law of publicity
The law of Advertising The law of Decision making
The Law of Credentials
The Law of Consistency and Singularity
Law of Meaning and Mortality
In the last article, I covered the 6th law. Let’s look closer at the 7th law of Branding:
As initially stated, this law is divided in two; meaning and mortality. Let’s look closely at them both.
When we look at different brands that have existed for many decades, we have built a relationship with the brand. There is trust and experience that confirms if we like this brand or not. We tend to lean towards the positive side if that brand fills 1 or 2 of our basic needs. But we will find ourselves addicted to it and be completely loyal to the brand if it fills 3 or more of our needs. Our basic human needs being; safety, verity, significance, connection, growth and/ or contribution. Let’s take Toys R Us for an example. It was founded in 1957. For those who were kids in late 60’s and early 70’s the meaning of having a Toys T UR toy, was associated with status. Not just because the shop was popular but also because the brand meaning had been passed down from their parents.
For my kids growing up in 2000 it was given that they will get their toys from Toys R US. There were other brands that had better toys, or less expensive but we had already verified this brand for them, so the meaning had already been defined in their mind and the choice was made for them. The brand meaning has been established through generations and we will carry it with us for a long time. The second part of this law says that whatever is born will die. It cannot last forever even though we hope and wish it would. In 2017 Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy, with $5 billion worth of debt and had to close down 800 or so stores all over the world. This was a sudden death and did not look like Toys R US had a good exit strategy. Unfortunately, sudden deaths are nothings we can do about other than to learn from the companies mistakes and hope to be able to have a better contingency plan. Whereas, if the brand has a few decades of experience it has already surfed on a few of the world financial waves. It has already seen some ups and some downs and probably has some contingency plans, but the new times, new challenges call for new measures and sometimes it is just too late.
It is very morbid to plan for once own death, but mortality is not a choice, is a reality. We need to be prepared and what is better than to plan a gracious exit strategy. A gracious exit makes the memories and the meaning of the brand deeper and poetically it makes the brand immortal. Loyal customers and fans make the brand live forever in its own way.
In conclusion:
If the brand means something to the loyal customers and it has a place in minds and hearts, the brand becomes immortal even if the company or product doesn’t exist anymore. The Meaning makes it immortal.
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Richa Chandra, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine 'Fears don’t define us, but how we face them, does that!' This is the mantra of Award winner (Most aspirational businesswomen, Norway 2019) Richa Chandra lives by. She is actually the driving force and face behind the success and visibility of many coaches, entrepreneurs, and workshops. In 2015, Richa faced a hostile takeover of her company and lost everything, but in just a few months, without any hesitation, she started 3 new businesses. She has written 3 books that have become the main Norwegian textbooks in teaching Indian Dance and Proven benefits of Meditation (2019).
