By Derek Armstrong<
Author of
• Blogertize: A Leading Expert Shows How Your Blog Can Be a Money-Making Machine
• The Persona Principle
• The Game, An Alban Bane Thriller
• MADicine, An Alban Bane Thriller 
• The Last Troubadour, Book 1 Song of Montségur
• The Last Quest, Book 2 Song of Montségur 

Persona strategy becomes crucially important in our changing world. We have analyzed five major trends in the world socio-economic structure that make Persona indispensable to your success. These trends will strongly affect the businesses of the future. They are important because of Persona Code 24, Code of Collective Conscious. Fighting trends will result in disastrous defeat. You must learn, appreciate, and use the trends of the next millennium.

Our new century will be defined by its trends. We can expect it to be characterized by the Five Ages.

The Persona Principle is the only Image-Marketing formula that exploits this fundamental truth. The Persona Principle is a proven science. We have executed Persona Plans for all company sizes, from start-up to IBM. Persona has a perfect track record in building successful ventures on image alone. It recognizes that relying on basic truth is not enough.

This is not an exaggeration. This is not hype. The idea that image is more important than substance has been recognized since mankind became civilized. Even tribal societies wore trophies of their hunting conquests to show their prowess to other members of society. It is not enough to be the greatest hunter in the village. The entire village must know it.

In 1819, Washington Irving wrote, "In civilized life, where the happiness, and indeed almost the existence, of man depends so much on the opinion of his fellow man, he is constantly acting a studied part." The Persona Principle takes this concept to the ultimate conclusion. We have turned an intuitive art into a mathematical science. This science does not depend on trends or changing morals. It is based on two unchanging human truths:

• Image has more value than reality.
  
  
• To last, image must be built only on truths.

By Derek Armstrong<
Author of
• Blogertize: A Leading Expert Shows How Your Blog Can Be a Money-Making Machine
• The Persona Principle
• The Game, An Alban Bane Thriller
• MADicine, An Alban Bane Thriller 
• The Last Troubadour, Book 1 Song of Montségur
• The Last Quest, Book 2 Song of Montségur 

It is not enough to be visible. To last is to succeed. And to last, Persona is the most effective weapon in your marketing war chest. The top five advertisers have been leaders for decades:

#1 Brand: AT&T telephone

#2 Brand: Ford cars, trucks, and vans

#3 Brand: Kellogg's cereals

#4 Brand: Sears stores

#5 Brand: McDonald's restaurants

Not surprisingly, these brands lead in spending. But they started from modest beginnings – using many of the principles outlined in The Persona Principle – to become the giants of today. Although McDonald's spent $208,992,400 in 1994, this figure is only a small percentage of its extraordinary revenue. In fact, as a percentage of revenue, McDonald's spending is below average. Spending may seem the main rule of success for these big brands, but of more importance is image. Even an exorbitant level of spending would not have built McDonald's into the number one fast-food chain without a clear and consistent persona. Without image – corporate culture, advertising character, restaurant decor, all of which must appeal to the specific target audience – no amount of spending would bring McDonald's to the top.

McDonald's controlled every ad and expenditure in marketing to maintain a consistent image. The McDonald's persona is the true secret to its success. Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar have been so consistently promoted that they are a part of the North American culture. The credibility message "billions served" has been a cornerstone of McDonald's persona-building for decades. Such consistency of message and image is crucial to any persona success story.

All brand leaders have something in common: they all value long-term image. But how did they become these giants that practically every citizen of the United States and Canada knows by name? Without exception, Persona leaders had humbler beginnings. They followed the most important codes of the Persona Principle:

• They invented or refined their product to be different from any similar product (see Persona Code 53, Code of Invention).
  
  
• They made credible claims (see Persona Factor 4, the Credibility Factor).
  
  
• They never compromised, treating their persona as an inviolable culture (see Persona Factor 5, the No-Compromise Factor).
  
  
• They allowed their persona to become a distinct, almost living, entity, complete with unique characters, names, logos, and styles (see Persona Factor 8, the Independence Factor).

It is difficult for the average start-up entrepreneur to relate to these giants. Yet these were once small ventures. McDonald's began humbly as a single restaurant and then a handful of unknown restaurants. Finally, McDonald's was bought by a shrewd entrepreneur who developed the McDonald's culture. This culture became an empire. Every code and factor of the Persona Principle is feasible, applicable by ventures of any size, whether young start-up or McDonald's. If you use the codes, your Image-Equity will grow (see Persona Factor 6, the Growth Factor). Your venture could become a McDonald's or a Kellogg's with steady, precise, uncompromising application of the Persona Principle.

By Derek Armstrong
Author of
• Blogertize: A Leading Expert Shows How Your Blog Can Be a Money-Making Machine
• The Persona Principle
• The Game, An Alban Bane Thriller
• MADicine, An Alban Bane Thriller 
• The Last Troubadour, Book 1 Song of Montségur
• The Last Quest, Book 2 Song of Montségur 

Always be first. If you can't be first, invent a niche in which you can be first. It is important that you be first in the mind of your target audience. You gain little credibility by claiming you are fifth in your market. You must position your persona to be number one in a segment in which you can meet your objectives - even if you have to invent that segment. Many great success stories have come from this drive to be number one. For example, the Uncola was created to overcome Coca-Cola's number one status. As a result, 7UP, the Uncola, is number one in the clear soft-drink category that it invented.