E-marketing Strategy: Does Your Brand Mean Anything to Anyone?
It was a great model—and, many would argue, necessary for many years and in many cases. But it's over. The piercing gaze of the Internet has removed invisibility from the world of information. Search engines outed the publishers, and now we're all coming online in droves.
However, all is not well. The decades of invisibility have left publishers at a real and distinct disadvantage in the modern landscape. Nearly every other company—in every other industry—has spent those same decades working tirelessly to make sure every person on Earth was aware of their name, logo and products. The Nike swoosh "means" something: quality, fitness, health. The Apple logo "means" something: quality, beauty, power. The New York Times logo "means" something: quality, investigation, information. All of these companies have fought to make sure their brand was synonymous with quality… and a few other things.