Relevance on a ski slope
Brand relevance is one of the important building blocks of brand equity. It pairs a brand's proposition with "the mind of the market" (see Michael Shermer use of this metaphor here ) or, simply put, with the needs, wants, and desires of the consumer. When you try to assess the level of relevance of your brand you have to step into your customers' shoes and ask yourself: "Is this for me?" There are numerous white papers and case studies identifying good and bad examples of attempts to manage and increase brand relevance: Burberry as the winner and Kodak as the loser, just to mention a couple. But what about a scenario when the whole concept of branding looses track in an entire category? How should brand owners respond? Where do they need to focus their efforts not to send their hard-earned brand assets down the drain? I thought about this a couple of days ago while queing for the lift on a ski slope with my kids. Our family may well be a represen