Persona Profile: The Lasting Image — The Top Five Brands

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N.B. This ranking is 1996. Historical article.

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.