Telling comments - comments by focus-group members concerning what a power brand is

American Demographics, March, 1998

Power Brands

What distinguishes a power brand from all the rest? The following quotes shed some light on the subject. When I think about a power brand, if I went up to even a child, or to the oldest person, they would be able to recognize that product as that product, or what it's synonymous with. You say a magazine, what hits your mind? Vogue. Gym shoes--Nike. You just know it. It becomes a household term. (Chicago) It's a brand that evokes not just a specific product but a lifestyle, so that you can imagine living this life where everything around you--your clothes, your shoes, your bedding, your stemware--is whatever this brand is. (Westchester) They have a very defined product or market niche. They just fit within your mind in a very neat category. It's not something that's fuzzy or "I don't know." If I'm going to patronize their store or buy their product, I know exactly what I will get. (San Francisco) An identity that communicates beyond the product, so that you can leverage that name to other things, and it has some of the same meaning. (Chicago) Brands that are established to some degree but aren't past their prime, and they've found a way to stay fresh and maintain their market, and continue to engage us on an everyday basis. They're still here, we know them. We've always known them. (Chicago) --Compiled from comments made during focus groups with women aged 25 to 54, for the "Vogue Power Brand Study," conducted by Langer Associates, Inc. of New York City in December 1997.