Is advertising marketing?
Is marketing branding?
What is the unladen weight of an African Swallow?

Rob, over at Businesspundit has a tasty post on the Chicken and the egg aspect of Advertising versus marketing versus distribution versus selling plain old H20. The water he ponders is Coke's Dasani, of the expensive Thames River Tapwater and carcinogen-laden variety, and how, a few short years ago he was incredulous at the idea of premium pricing a thing like water.

Well, given the immutable fact of Pauly Shore movies, anything is possible. But Rob's way ahead of the median. Some still just can't get their heads around the fact that brand IS what sells. And, it IS a guiding strategic asset that derives its power from the attention it's given when being woven. It is tailoring, not an impulse buy or sackcloth. And if you buy off the rack or cobble any old thing together, don't be surprised when it falls apart at the seams or ends up around your ankles.

Call it The Fairy Dust Branding model. All dust and activity, lots of people waiting for the magic to show up. Things get put of sequence, out of synch, and out of the resonance range for all but bats and dogs.

I'm sure you've been here. People going through the motions, piling up the to-do lists, breaking up into tidy breakout groups or task forces, with the prize being one all-powerful MARKETING PLAN! -- a holy grail dictating everything brand-esque.

In many cases, with Brand usually being item number 42, after say, number 41: Logo. But before number 43: Squeeze balls with the company name on them.

Doom ensues.

Well, it was time for a little remediation today. Since nobody reads the body copy anymore--always advisable on this blog--out came the Sharpie^® and pad, followed by the Powerpoint™, yielding this handy Business Plan > Branding > Marketing > Advertising > Whatever pecking order to begin the deprogramming:


[click for larger]
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