National Brands Are Making Communities Homogenous (Knowledge)

This is Jim Glover, That Branding Guy and Marianne Tenenbaum, branding strategist, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are taking a look at how popular national brands are impacting the individuality of community brands.

In our blogs we frequently stress the importance of a brand being unique, compelling and believable to ensure it clearly stands out in the minds of customers. Big brands like Target, Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Ashley Furniture, PetSmart, Applebee's, Best Buy and TJ Maxx do a great job at differentiating their individual brands.

Here is the irony: As communities across the country attract these large, well-known brands to grow their local economies and provide a better shopping experience for residents, they are at the same time losing their own brand identity and charm. Today strip development after strip development are jam-packed with the exact same storefronts, making it virtually impossible for a person to tell if they are shopping in Denver, Albuquerque or Des Moines.

When it comes to community branding, small and rural cities and towns should keep this in mind as they build their economy and their brand. They should strive to maintain a balance between being unique and serving the needs of their residents.

Once a Day Marketing™ positions brands to become #1 in the minds of target customers. Visit our website at www.onceadaymarketing.com. Contact James Glover at (505) 501-1330 or email glover@onceadaymarketing.com. Listen to Ask Those Branding Guys™ every Monday at 11:00am (MDT) streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

© 2015 Once a Day Marketing™. All rights reserved.