Why Posh Spice is filthy stinking rich and you’re not.

The economy may be tighter than the skin on Posh Beck’s face — but I’m willing to bet that just one of her botoxed brows is probably worth far more than a lot of companies can gross in a year. The Spice Girls (yes, the Spice Girls) are one of the most powerful examples of global branding to date. So what can a Spice Girl and her spice cronies teach you about branding? Follow my blogorithm and you too can brand it like (Mrs.) Beckham:

1. Find out which ‘spice’ you are.
The Spice Girls created distinct personalities that connected them with their core target market, and beyond it. So develop a personality that lets people identify with your name, and you’ll have better product recall. (Mrs. Becks took her personality as “Posh Spice” and branded herself as a fashion icon, which helped her clothing brand catapult into the mega millions. And being married
to DB also helps.)

2. Own your spice.
If your personality airs on the side of “Stingy Spice,” then chances are you’ll never reach your branding potential. It takes considerable time (and money) to validate your brand and get people
to remember you by your brand personality. The old adage “you get what you pay for” definitely applies here. (Posh shells out a heck of a lot for one dress, but that dress always lands her on
the front pages.)

3.Know what you want to achieve as a brand
According to Forbes.com, the Spice Girls reunion tour took in more than $60 million US, making it the number one income earner for concerts for 2007/2008. Not too shabby considering that the global economy was already in the shredder by then. Know what you want to be as a brand, then work with the experts to develop it.

4.Make Noise 100
You’re already at a great advantage here. Any noise you make will be superior by far to any
sound ever made by the Spice Girls.

*Results of this formula may vary, but if a working-class girl from Hertfordshire, UK can do it, so
can you.

Is your name Bubba?

Years ago, I took in a friend who needed a place to stay for a month or so until his business could recover. We’ll call him Bubba. When a month or two became three or four, I said “So, are you really marketing yourself out there?” Bubba bit into his fifth slice of pizza, washed it down with a Budweiser and said no, marketing himself right now would be too expensive, and went back to sleep on my couch. Before six months became seven or eight, I threw Bubba out. After all, he was heavy, and he wasn’t my brother.

Not unlike Bubba, the recession moved in with us indefinitely, and it won’t be getting off our couches any time soon. Unlike Bubba, we can’t just kick it out. And with budgets now tighter than a gnat’s armpit, companies keep slashing their marketing costs because “marketing themselves right now would be too expensive.”

Slashing marketing budgets during a recession has a long-term negative effect. Why? Because when your advertising “noise” decreases, the sound of those still shouting “HEY, NOTICE ME!”
is that much louder. When the competition stops or reduces their advertising, that’s the perfect time for your brand’s message to be heard. If your message is one of the few messages reaching customers, the odds of success are in your favor. So take my advice — don’t be a Bubba. Let’s talk about how we can get your brand noticed right now, before the recession ends and no one even remembers you. And if you don’t take my advice, don’t even think you can take up space on my couch.