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The Rolodex® Brand Extension Method

Recently I was flipping through the Roledex on my desk looking for the phone number of a good friend. Because he is a friend, not a business associate or vendor, I flipped to M and found his business card right where I thought it would be. His last name begins with the letter M, even though the company he works for starts with the letter F.

Had a client of his gone looking in my Rolodex, he or she would undoubtedly go searching under F and attempt to locate my friend by the name of his company. Depending on which name—business or personal—I’m more emotionally connected to, determines how I organize business cards in my Rolodex. In the same way, consumers file businesses, products, or organizations in their brains depending on which “brand name” supplies the most value in the relationship.

Here’s what I mean: When I say the word, “Corvette,” do you think of a Chevrolet? Do you picture the Chevy logo? Does General Motors pop into your head? Do you picture your grandmother? Probably not.

That’s because your brain may have filed Corvette under S for sleek, sexy, sports car. Or maybe it’s filed under B because your brother owns one. Heck, it might be filed under C, but not because Chevrolet makes the vehicle, but rather because the Corvette name has much more equity—and cachet—than the Chevy name.

My Rolodex Principle of Brand Extension
In my personal litmus test for line extensions I first ask, “Which brand supplies the value to the customer in this relationship?” If you had a business card for Aquafina water, would you file it under A for Aquafina, or P for Pepsico, the company that distributes Aquafina water? That’s easy. If Pepsico had decided to call their water Pepsi Water, that would be a classic line extension and most consumers would file the Pepsi Water “business card” in the Rolodex of their brain under P.

Again, where do you want your customers and prospects to derive their value? In Pepsico’s case, there may have been plenty of strength and recognition behind the Pepsi name, but the gray matter of your personal Rolodex knows Pepsi as sweet, syrupy, and carbonated. Your Rolodex would not have made the synaptic connection between those attributes and clean, clear, refreshing water. So Pepsico made the right decision and developed a standalone brand name for its bottled water: Aquafina. And consumers can file it under A.

There’s really no right or wrong answer: people can use whatever filing system is best for them. But as a business that depends on customers and growth, your objective is to make sure people CAN FIND YOU and know what it is you stand for.

Back to Cars
Let’s look at the ubiquitous Toyota. In most consumers’ minds, the Toyota is a small to midsized Japanese car that is dependable, in the middle of the price range for the general market, has solid resale value, and modest styling cues. Most people would file Toyota under T and connect the name with those attributes.

When Toyota decided to enter the luxury car market, they could have simply made a well-appointed, upscale Toyota model with a price tag to match. But here’s where the Rolodex filing system would have become a bit confused. While still filed under T, is Toyota mid-priced and practical or upscale and luxurious?

When Toyota decided to go down-market to a trendy, college-age customer, they could have simply created a Toyota model with edgy styling, lots of mass customization options, and a lower price point. But again, the Rolodex of the mind would have become even more muddled. We’re still under the letter T for Toyota, but now I don’t know if that means conservative and stylish or hip and happening. My mind is struggling with the concept that Toyota could actually stand for both high price and low price, both stodgy and youthful.

But that’s not how it happened. Toyota created the Lexus brand as the name of its up-market automobile (file under L, please) and Scion to represent its down-market vehicle (filed under S).

How is your company “filed” in the minds of your customers and prospects? When they think of your business, what aspect of your character are they actually thinking about? Understanding where you are filed in the Rolodex of your customers and prospective supporters will give you a better idea of which attributes are most important to them. And, you’ll be better prepared to make the right decisions about extending your brand name over a wider variety of programs, services, or products.

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