Brand Management

When a rancher marks so many cows with that hot poker thing that she needs a computer to keep them all straight.

Er, um, no. Actually, brand management is all about actively maintaining, investing in, repositioning, and otherwise developing a brand’s associations, identity, extensions, and loyalty.

Because brands are largely cognitive/emotional associations, and thoughts and feelings change, brand management is crucial for the enduring efficacy of any brand. Like...you won't see a bunch of hot, naked, writhing bodies in Disney films. You will see them in Miramax films, but in many cases, um...you won't want to have seen them. Grampa Hot Tub Crash, we're looking at you.

The drama of brand management plays out most actively on social media and reality TV, which, for us, is really just...reality.

Example: A key difference between Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian is that Kim had Kris Jenner, a genius in brand management. While both Paris and Kim began their “celebrity” by being branded as “sex tape girls,” Kris introduced Kim’s sisters (brand extension), each of whom had their own points of resonance with viewers (brand identities), ultimately allowing viewers to “play favorites” (brand loyalty). Paris had Nicole Richie and a dog in a purse, neither of which advanced her brand.