Al & Laura Reis’ latest marketing book, The Origin of Brands, is a deeper dive into a conversation about how divergence trumps convergence in the development of brands. This time, Al & Laura approach divergence from the angle of biology.
A pdf summary of The Origin of Brands can be found here.
Some of what they say will no doubt stir debate between brand creationists and brand evolutionists. Don't believe me? Just read the excerpts below.
********** EXCERPT ONE **********
What has happened in nature is also happening in the world of products and services. Every category will eventually diverge and become two or more categories, creating endless opportunities to build new brands.
The interplay of evolution and divergence provides a model for understanding both the Universe and the universe of brands.
Evolution has received all the publicity, but evolution alone cannot account for the millions of diverse and unusual species that inhabit the Earth. If it weren’t for the force of divergence, evolution by itself would have created a world populated by millions of single-cell prokaryotes the size of dinosaurs.
So, too, it is in the world of brands. Brands evolve to become stronger and more dominant. But it’s divergence that generates the conditions that allow the introduction of new categories and new brands.
Comparing branding with biology might seem far-fetched, but we could think of no other analogy that so clearly and simply explains the branding process.
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