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Issue 5 > Great product, lousy brand.

Great product, lousy brand.

Laura Ries moans about her shoes.

Just because you have a great idea and make a great product (or deliver a great service) doesn't mean you will build a powerful brand and enjoy great success. This sad truth sometimes becomes personal when a product I love makes egregious branding errors. In fact, it really makes my blood boil.

I am an avid walker. I love walking in New York City going up the avenues and through the park. I love walking in Paris to the Eiffel Tower and through the Tullieries. I love hiking in the mountains of Austria and around the volcanoes in Maui.

I am also into fitness and new exercise trends and gadgets. I have all sorts of wobble boards, weighted balls, body bars, ankle weights, abdominal wheels and yoga mats. I also have an elliptical machine, Rollerblades, an inversion table and now MBT shoes.

I love my MBT shoes, but their branding stinks.

The point of a brand name is to get into the mind of the consumer. The better your name, the easier it is to get into the mind. Think 'BlackBerry'.

The point of a category name is to define the niche your brand occupies in the mind. Ideally you want to be first in a new category. This will give you credibility, authenticity and instant leadership. Think 'Red Bull' and energy drink. If you aren't first, then you want to be the opposite of the competition. Think 'Monster', the 16-oz energy drink and the #2 brand.

The point of a tagline (or positioning statement) is to give consumers a verbal message to share with one another. The test of a good tagline goes like this: If somebody asks you why you bought the brand will the tagline explain it? Does it use words consumers would use? Does it even make any sense?

• Why did you buy Barilla pasta? Because it is 'Italy's #1 pasta'.
• Why did you buy a Toyota? Because they are 'moving forward'?

While I can see the Barilla conversation happening. I could never see the Toyota one happening. Don't Toyotas go in reverse anymore?

MBT fails on all three counts.

1 The name: 'MBT'. Launching a brand with meaningless initials is the kiss of death.

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