You've seen this scenario: Helen Chan, Queen of Client Services, walks all excited into the office of Andy Oz, the recently hired King of Creative. Her hands are animated as she announces, "We're pitching MegaGlobal in two weeks! We need a Big Brand Idea!"

Andy looks up and removes his glasses. "Cool" he says, as he wonders, What the %#*! does she mean, Big Brand Idea?

Cut to you, right now, reading at your monitor.

Yes, you.

Here's a pop quiz. Define "brand." Go ahead, jot something down. And if you're really clever, define "Big Brand Idea." I'll wait.

All done?

Back to Helen and Andy, two days later. They are sitting around a marble conference table with several art directors, copywriters and assorted planners—the usual crowd on The Pitching Team.

Helen Clears her throat, smiles at Andy, and says, "Our new creative guru here has asked me to explain what I mean by Big Brand Idea."

She looks around the room. Most everyone just stares. "Well, to me, a brand is like a person," says Helen, gesturing towards an art director, a guy named Cinco Lima who looks like Sean Penn.

Helen says, "Let's say Cinco is a product, a jar of instant coffee, sitting on a shelf at Park&Shop. His relationship is different with every shopper that walks down his aisle, right? Just like he has a different relationship with everyone here at work."

Helen takes a quick read of the table. She sees Cinco nod. Andy, Julie and Sabilla all agreeing. So she continues.

"Cinco's relationships can be divided into one of three stages. Stage one, you want people to notice and recognize you. It's like, 'Hey, here I am, look at me!'

"Stage two, you want to get acquainted, you want people to know you. 'You're going to like what we can do together.'

"And stage three, you want people to love you. 'This is such an important relationship, let's stay together forever.'"

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Steve McNamara

Steve McNamara is a freelance ad guy and the publisher of AdCracker.com. He has been a creative director and copywriter at JWT, BBDO, and, on the client side, at Capital One. Reach him at adcracker@gmail.com.

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