Meet Big Branding Expert Gerry Foster

Protect your brand, product or invention from the hazards of consumer product launching and go from idea to product to big brand. With guidance from retail product design and development experts Tracy and Tom Hazard. Get the insider secrets to put the right things in the right order with the right resources so you can out design, outsource, and out profit your way to retail success.

Hey, product launchers, I am super excited to bring you someone who you've heard of already, because when I say me only branding, me only territory, me only products, this is the guy I'm quoting. So I'm bringing you today my favorite branding expert in the world, Jerry Foster. And he is Jerry Foster, branding. I'm going to call him a branding evangelist. I think that's like the right term for. He is so passionate about branding, but he has so much experience with Procter and Gamble and big companies that do brands that you recognize every single day. And that's the market you're competing with. Even if you think you're just on Amazon and it's not that big a deal because you're showing up in search engine. But at the end of the day, if someone's going to refer your product and tell their friends about it and you're going to get that kind of traction, you have to become a brand. And Jerry knows the most about this, so I'm bringing him on for you. So, hey, Jerry, thanks for joining us.

Hey, Tracy, thank you for having me. I am Hyena happy and Peacock proud to be here.

I love it. I love it. So I want to talk about what, what a brand is, because lots of people think it's a logo.

Well, it's more than a logo, right? Because your brand is your. What, your reputation. And it's the promise that you're giving to the consumer in terms of letting them know what they can be counted on to receive from you. And so if you think about it, it requires more than simply having an image. Because a lot of times people think that the brand is that image, right? The look and the feel of the brand. And the thing about that, which is interesting, is that for most people, when you hear the word brand, that's what they associate with it, right? The visual, the aesthetics, the look and the feel of the brand. However, that's important. But the key is what are you going to be counted on to deliver to your market? And from that perspective, that takes more than a look.

So branding's perception, it really is.

And the job for everyone today is to shape those perceptions, right?

Because what you think you are may not Be what they think you are.

Oh, my goodness, isn't that the truth? Because the way you see yourself may not be how others see you. And the moment you tell someone who you are and what it is that you do, they will slot you. They will put you into a box. They'll come up with their own conclusions in terms of what they think you are capable of. I'm a real estate agent. Okay, I put you into the real estate pile. I'm a financial planner. Okay, I'll put you into the financial planning pile. I'm a life coach. I own this kind of business, Whatever. And so the idea with branding, particularly big branding, which, you know is what I specialize in, is shaping perception so that people see you the way that you want them to see you. That's the sad reality of business today, Tracy. You kind of look at the big picture. Yeah, it really is. Because in the big pictures, things. I mean, scope of things, I mean, the whole marketplace is super crowded. It's noisy.

It's very noisy.

Competing. It's so noisy.

There's 1.4 billion websites on Google. Is that crazy? And it's growing all the time.

Yeah. And so here you are as a small business owner, and you're competing with thousands, if not millions of similar businesses around the world that are vying for your attention and your dollar and your dollar. And so false processions occur. And more importantly, standing out is getting harder and harder. It's as if you're invisible.

So tell me about that, because we quote you all the time here. We give you credit for it, because I'm big on that. Tom and I used to just call it original product. Right. But you have a great way of terming it. It's me only. So tell me categories of product that you talk about.

Well, there's three levels that a small business owner can play at. There's me too, Me special, and me only. Now, if someone sees you as a me too, whoever or whatever, you're now a commodity. You're being labeled as being generic. You're just a carton of milk, a bottle of water. Right. You're a piece of furniture.

So let me translate that for Amazon sellers on here, because for you Amazon sellers, this is what we would call white label. Right. Or you're reselling, you're wholesaling. You are arbitrage. Right. You're reselling something that already exists. This is me, too.

Well put. Because in that situation, you're forced to compete on price and availability because you're now a commodity. However, Tracy, Brands like Nike and Starbucks have shown us what that the products they offer are less important than the brands they market and sell. So the idea around branding yourself is to make sure that people see you as offering something that they cannot get anywhere else, which leads to the next level called Me special. Now, Me special are those owners out there, particularly the Amazon folks, right, who are saying, well, Jerry, I've got something that's different. Well, really, is it relevant? Do people care about it?

Yeah, this is where you've made something customized. Maybe you've done some bundling, maybe you've made it just a little bit better than the other guys out there and girls out there. But it's not in its own territory.

It's not in its own territory. And so the level that owners want to play at is a level that I call Me only. Right. Which means that you are now making the decision to be an innovator and not an imitator, that you're going to take what you have and convert it into a me only brand proposition. Now, that means that you, as an owner, if you're going to put a product or even a service out there yourself, you've got to forge new territory. You've got to do things differently than your competition. You've got to get people to see you as being highly distinctive because you are providing value that's unrivaled.

Yeah. This is where we're living here on Product Launch Hazards. Right. If you want to get to that big brand level, you've got to be playing at that innovator level. There's no way to get past that. So we have a lot of brands that we've worked with over the last, I'd say, five years or so that are Amazon brands that grew from the Me Too into Me Special and they kind of cap out. What we found is that there's like about a $10 million cap. So they could do pretty well with lots of great marketing and a decent brand. That is it. But if their products don't head into innovator territory and their brand doesn't head into the innovator territory, then they can't make it past that into the hundred millions.

Oh, my God. You have hit the nail on the head because you have to put something out that is unique and believable and highly regarded, which means that you're making a decision that you're not going to follow the crowd, you're going to lead the crowd. Because if you look at the big brands, the big ballers and shot callers, as I like to put them, these are brands that have made the decision that they're going to generate more love for their brand by making it unforgettable and favored by the consumer they're trying to attract. And so that's why when you look at incredible brands that are innovators, not imitators, I don't care if we're talking old school brands, from McDonald's to TV Guide to Coca Cola to brands like Nike and Dove Soap, right? There's something associated with those brand names which make you come to the conclusion, wow, me only rules, me too stinks.

That's not sustainable.

Oh my God. I mean, there's Nike and performance. Well, wait a minute, why is that? Well, because we associate a level of performance with Nike gear and Nike sneakers that we don't associate with others.

Right?

Dove Soap says our brand is about fresh, beautiful skin. Well, wait a minute, can't you get the same thing from other soaps? Well, maybe not Pixar. Look at Pixar. Witty, innovative, animated stories, right? They're rocking the industry because people feel that the Pixar brand stands for something that is highly distinct and above the rest of the crowd.

Well, and it is shown to be again and again. But at the end of the day, what I think is really important for you guys to remember is it doesn't matter how great and innovative you think your product is if the market isn't buying it. If the market doesn't believe that, if your brand perception with that audience is not connecting, you have a problem.

You got it? And that's why a logo is not enough. Listen, I don't have anything against well polished websites and edgy color schemes and eye popping logos and packaging and all of that stuff, right? Anything that's going to help you stand up and get noticed is important, obviously. However, your logo is not your whole brand. Right? Because if you're trying to, let's say, have some real attraction, then you'll quickly understand that design alone is not the driving force behind rapid brand growth. Because design alone doesn't capture what I call brand power, which really is the power of you as the owner, as the creator of your product, as the founder of your company, whatever it is that you're putting out there, it's you making the decision that you're going to put out a rock star brand that is going to create an engaging, emotional experience that the consumer wants to be a part of. And so a logo alone can't do that. And that's why you've heard me say Tracy, I'm speaking somewhere, right? This guy goes, I really appreciate what you're saying because I can get a logo done for $50, and if the guy goes, I can go on fiverr.com and get it done for $5, I go, really? Do you really think it's that easy?

Yeah, it's really not. And so this is what my very first article I ever wrote for Inc. Was, why Million dollar brands don't buy $5 logos. It's not a cut on Fiverr. It's not at all. Because you could get great design there, but only if you know what you're asking for. And that's what the branding conversation is.

Oh, yeah.

Any decent graphic designer can execute a great brand strategy and a great outline of what needs to be communicated and how it needs to be communicated. That's really where it is. It's not about the logo. At the end of the day, it's not even about where you get it. But if you think that you're going to get branding from 99designs and from Fiverr, you are totally wrong. They do not guide you on that.

Oh, yeah, because non conforming brands provide traction. That's the whole key. And so when you make the decision, in whatever industry, whatever kind of product you may have, or a service, a nonprofit, whatever it may be, right, you're making the decision that you're going to deviate and not conform. You're going to, like I said, forge new territory, put something out that is surprising and awesome, right? That rocks your industry. That's what Airbnb did, That's what Uber did, right? I mean, you've got so many brands that are out there now because they understand that you must leverage innovation.

Yes, absolutely. And so what are the indicators? What should people come ready for? Should they have some amount of information? Should they have some amount of sales? Should they have some audience to talk to? What makes it easier for you to help them provide a great brand?

They should have something that can either one, solve a problem, right? The greatest brands on the planet are brands that allow us to say to the marketplace, listen, I know you've got this painful, annoying, aggravating problem that you are dealing with personally or perhaps your family or your company, whoever, whatever. What my brand will make it go away. That's number one. Number two, can you give people a better outcome? In other words, in most industries, think about this. Whatever category, whatever field of expertise you may be in, most people are either, what, using a product or service like that already, or they think they know of One that can do the same thing. And so their attitude is like, well, I've already got a vendor, I've already got a supplier, I've already got a product that can do this. So you got to come in and say, listen, you want to know what sets me apart? I can give you a better outcome than what you're currently using or thinking of. So a better outcome is the second opportunity for anyone out there who wants to brand what they have. The third is, can you perform a miracle? I mean, Traci, there are brands out there that are really talking about, hey, we can perform a miracle for you. We'll show you how to lose 20 pounds in 20 days without going hungry. We'll get rid of your belly fat in 10 days. We'll get rid of your migraine headache in five minutes. Guys, you can have a six pack AB and in 30 days, if you use the AB machine, right? I mean, there are miracle stuff out there. We look at our situation and go, oh my God, this is impossible. I don't know what I'm going to do. Help me, help me, help me. Right? And so we're always on the lookout for those incredible remedies. And then the fourth is when you can say to the consumer, I can provide you the kind of emotional payoff that you're looking for. In other words, you can stop feeling stressed out or worried or embarrassed, whatever that negative emotion may be. My product or my skill set will make that go away. And so when you look at those four items, can you solve a problem, improve an outcome, perform a miracle of some sort, or provide some kind of emotional payoff? Then you've got every opportunity and every reason to go out there and be.

Granted and big branded. I love that. That's really important. Now sometimes we have to do. I'm going to call it the hypothesis brand. Some people call it a starter brand. Right? So you believe you have these things, but you haven't sold anything yet. You have no proof yet. And so you got to start somewhere. What should people start with when they have a starter brand when they don't have a lot of budget either?

Oh, absolutely. The first thing they should do is, is lay down their brand foundation. That's the key. And what I mean by that is to understand that it's like building a house. If you're going to build a house, the first thing that you would do is work with the architect, right? Put together the blueprint that lays out the design of the house and what you have in mind and on and on. And on. So the first thing that an owner should do is lay down a solid, multi layered strategic foundation. This should be done before they jump into any kind of creative development work, before they think about trying to come up with marketing ideas and promotion ideas, and on and on and on. So what a foundation is designed to do is to give your brand a soul, a voice, a body. You're pulling together all the key elements that make up an identifiable, powerful, strong brand so that your buyers have a clear understanding of what makes you different and better than what's currently out there. And so if you don't have a brand that says, listen, I've got something that is vastly superior to what else the competition may be offering, you're dead in the water. So you've got to lay down your foundation, right. That you can then build your unique value upon. Just like a house, right? So once the concrete is poured and the steel reinforcement bars and studs are in place, that will support a house that will sit upon it. It's the same thing here. We've got to make sure that all the key elements come together, which increases the likelihood that people will think about your brand when they are in the market for a product or service like yours, because they see you offering something that is one of a kind.

Wonderful. Yeah. We're big here on plans and foundations because this is where all the wrong things in all the wrong order with all the wrong people happen. Right? And we're about the right things in the right order with the right resources. So.

Oh, my God. I mean, Tracy, let's talk about the reality of going into business in the first place. Right? I mean, when you make the decision that you're going to navigate those waters, you've got to be able to withstand the winds of unpredictable problems and challenges and changes. This thing called life itself. And so the brand is like your seawall.

That's why we call the product Hazards.

There you go. There you go. Exactly. Exactly. And so you've got to have that sea wall that is designed to protect you from all those outside elements that are unforeseen and out of our control. Right.

There's so many things out of our control. Right. In the big brand world.

Oh, my God. When you dare to plunge into this emotional minefield that I call it, with all these treacherous waters and storms that can come up out of this thing called I have my own business, you've got to make sure that you put yourself in the best position to forge ahead, to work on your dreams coming true, understanding that you've got to persevere in a business world that at times can seem tough and unfair and accessible and bruising in ways that we never asked for. And the best way to do that is, is to make sure that you have a me only one of a kind rock star brand that says to the world, I've got something fresh and different and original that you're going to fall in love with. And that's the key. You've got to put something out that people want to fall in love with and be a part of. And Tracy, you and I talked about that. This is our world today. We love our brand. Yeah. We have preferences.

We love our brands. Right? That's right. We rave about our brands. And that's when you hit into those hundreds of million dollar territory on up. So.

Oh, my God. Oh, Tracy, you got folks out there who are putting together million dollar brands within 12 months. I mean, you got people who are becoming multimillionaires in a few years because they understand the importance of strategically designing their brand. Because the greatest brands are strategically developed not from image, not from a look, not from colors. Right. And all the aesthetics, but more about, hey, what can I put out into the marketplace that people are going to get excited about and want to fall in love with? Because a consumer sees value, unheard of value in that brand. And that's what my work is about. Right. My work is about making sure that people are able to make success possible at a high level by making their mark on the world, by making sure that their light shines bright forever with a brand that people are just going to notice and pay attention to and want to purchase.

That's right. See why I told you he was the branding evangelist? He loves branding as much as I love products. So we got a good match here, Jerry. Now, I like to kind of let people know that you've been there, done that again and again and again. And so one of the ways is through some of the stories of the things that go terribly wrong and so the actual hazards with a single Z that you might have encountered. And so we want to hear stories of where people really didn't consider branding and it went terribly wrong. So do you have anything you could share with us?

Oh, my God. You're like, which one? Oh, I mean, are you looking for products or services? I can go either way.

Probably products on this platform.

I would say that probably the biggest one is the fellow who thinks that the key to success is building a better mousetrap. And I remember this one fellow who created this Product. I can't remember the category, but his focus was on, okay, I'm going to put something out that is going to be great because I've got all the bells and whistles, I got all the key features in it and I'm proud of it, and people are going to want to buy it. And what was missing from him is that he wasn't addressing the void in the marketplace. He wasn't asking himself the simple question called, what are people looking for that they cannot find? That's the whole key, right? It all starts with asking yourself, where's a big hole that they can fill and provide value that no one else does?

Oh, I so agree with that. We talk to a lot of those people here.

Traci, at the end of the day, if you cannot say to the consumer, I've got exactly what you've been looking for and you can only get it from me, no one or anything else even comes close. I am fearlessly original when you can say that to someone. Now you're cooking with gas because now you're putting out something special that people are going to find interesting and appealing.

It is just also here we have a lot of people who think that they can go into it and just automatically get on the shelf or get licensed, get their brand bought just because they've got a great product idea. And what we have said is that those days are really over. It might have been that way 15 years ago, but it's not that way now. Now you have to prove that your brand has fans, that people love it. It's more important for that than it is to have a great product, which I hate to say that as a person who really wants great products out there. Now, it doesn't mean it's not a good product, but brand can mean more, unfortunately. And so we want to bring both things together. We want to bring really great products that solves incredible problems, that really does a service and emotionally connects with people, because that's when you have a highly valuable brand.

Absolutely. Well said. Because you've got to offer something unique and different that the world hasn't heard or seen before. So you've got some folks out there. Let's take Amazon, right? The Amazon product. You may have a product and you're rocking it, you're making money, and all of a sudden others get into the market with a similar, if not the same kind of product. And here you are, all of a sudden, you've gone from me only to me, too.

And it happens all the time because the buyer's loyalty is to Amazon and not to your brand on there, because you haven't pulled them off, you haven't made them brand fans yet. You haven't gone deep enough.

Oh, yeah, I'm working with a couple of companies right now who have health supplements. And when they first came out into the market with their vitamins and the things that they offer to help people become healthy in the areas that they specialize in, they were pretty much the only game in town. And then all of a sudden, the market became saturated. And then the perception on the part of the consumer was, well, I really can't see the difference between you and these others. What's your price? So the moment that someone commoditizes you like that labels you as generic, as I said earlier, now you are dead in the water. And that's. Think about it. What happened to MySpace? What happened to Blockbuster? What happened to Radio Shack? Right? I mean, these were brands that at.

One time, their brand and their products didn't keep up. Right? They were both. They both didn't keep up.

Exactly. BlackBerry, AOL. I mean, come on, Radio Shack. Look at all these products. And BlackBerry was the first smartphone, wasn't it? I mean, they created it.

Yeah. And it's completely gone. I don't know anyone who has one anymore. So I know.

Oh, my God. Because you have to have a competitive advantage, and you got to drive home the advantages that your product offers. If your goal is to activate customer engagement, which means that you've got to carve out your me only image in a crowded market space that allows you to shine brightly above the competition.

Well, and I think also the message that I want you to get across to everyone is also that this is not a static thing. Brands shift over time. They pivot, they grow, just like their product lines have to grow. And if they don't grow, if they don't shift, just like Radio Shack didn't, they weren't paying attention to where their customers were going. Even though they may have had great products, still, things that people wanted, they didn't shift to where the people were. Then you're not doing a service to your customers, fans. You're not keeping up with them.

Not at all. And then you have the companies that did make the shift. One of the greatest examples of that is Target. You remember how back in the day, Target was competing with Walmart and Sears and JCPenney and Kmart on the basis of low price. Now, who can outdo Walmart when it comes to low prices? Right? And so Target rebrands itself and shifts from being known for low price merchandise to what affordable chic marketplace. And not a consumer says, I don't shop at Target, I shop at Target. There you go.

That's right. And they did that through a branding messaging, branding shift and through their products because they brought in Michael Graves and Cynthia Raleigh and people like that to help upgrade their brand lines within that. So these things go hand in hand. And that's really why we have this platform here. Because we want to make sure that you can collaborate with all of us, that you can do the right things in the right order, that you can access Jerry early on, maybe before you're a little ready for him, then get ready for him, that you can then follow up with me afterwards and make sure that your products are really delivering that original brand message that you've set for yourself. That original brand perception is being seen through in your products. That you've got marketing funnels that actually express that instead of are counter to that. Because I've seen that so often when you have a wonderful brand and then you have this really salesy funnel, it's terrible. So we want all those things to have synergy. And that's why we've invited the group that we have here, experts like Jerry and all of the experts on our platform. And we want you to access them and ask them questions. That's why they're here, to do live office hours. So join Jerry live on his next office hour because he's brilliant. You can ask him so many questions. He's amazing in person. So you also should invite him to your event if you've got events going on.

Oh, thank you. And I might add, it doesn't matter at what stage someone is in. It doesn't matter if they're in a startup mode or they have an idea, a dream, an invention, a concept. Right. The whole thing on a napkin. Right. It does not matter if you're at that stage or if you're already in business and you're in revenue, that product that you're offering must come across as a brand. That's the key if you want sustainable long term growth and you want to make a lot of money.

Absolutely.

So I can help any of those folks, the part timers, the dreamers, the full timers, the veterans, it does not matter. Because just like Target, even if you have a company that's out there and has been in the market for a while, it has to be refreshed. Right. It's all about reimagination and reengineering. And revamping and all that kind of stuff to keep freshening up what you have.

Absolutely. Well, Jerry, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate it. And Product Launchers, if you want to connect with him, you go right into the profile on productlaunchhazards.com and you will find everything you need to know to connect with him and find Jerry. And he's got some really cool programs and a few free downloads and things that I know that he's going to contribute to our platform over time. So be looking for all the videos from Jerry and be looking for his office hours every single month.

Thank you, Tracy. It's my honor to be a part of this and with your audience. Whatever I can do to serve. That's why I'm here. So thank you.

Thanks again, Product Launchers, until next time, this is Tracy Hazard and Jerry Foster signing off.

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