Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

262 BRAND RELEVANCE
Become the Exemplar
When possible, the brand should strive to become the exemplar
of the category or subcategory, the brand that represents it in
the minds of the customers. When the brand gains exemplar
status, the brand strategy and its associated brand building will
play the role of building the category or subcategory and developing
its associations.
Another important attribute of an exemplar is that it will
naturally develop not only a connection to the new category or
subcategory but also credibility and authenticity. A challenge
for any brand when a new category or subcategory emerges
is to gain relevance. Being an exemplar means that relevance
hurdles will almost certainly be overcome. Without the exemplar
status, creating a link and credibility can be an uphill
struggle.
How can a brand become an exemplar? Some guidelines were
discussed in Chapter Two . First, be thought leaders and innovators.
Don ’ t stand still. Innovation, improvement, and change
will make the category or subcategory dynamic, the brand
more interesting, and the role of the exemplar more valued.
Disneyland is the exemplar of theme parks and it is always innovating.
Second, be the early market leader in terms of sales and
market share. It is hard to be an exemplar and to leverage that
role without market share leadership. Third, and most important,
advance the category or subcategory and not the brand. If
the category wins the brand will win.
When a brand is an exemplar, the category will be built
under the auspices of the brand. It is the brand ’ s resources,
programs, and platform that will be telling the category or
subcategory story. That means that much of the effort will be
focusing on describing the category or subcategory characteristics,
describing their advantages, and promoting loyalty not to
the brand but to the category or subcategory over other categories
or subcategories. The objective of brand building will be