Focus—Alignment—LinkageWhile I'm not a customer or prospect, I bumped into an interesting company recently that compelled me to dig a little deeper, even though, as I say, I'm not a prospect. The company? Big Ass Fans. 
So why did it jump out at me as being a good brand lesson? In his book, Killer Brands: Create and Market a Brand That Will Annihilate the Competition, author Frank Lane describes the difference between a ho-hum product or service and a "Killer Brand" that compels people to choose it and use it. Lane reveals his three-step method to unlocking the marketplace.FOCUS: how to find the one singular, differentiating, and powerfully compelling quality that will make your Killer Brand known--not because of what it says it does, but because it does what it says ALIGNMENT: how to connect everything you do in perfect harmony to deliver that focus consistently time after time, making sure that nothing you do inadvertently detracts from that expectation LINKAGE: how to make your Killer Brand synonymous with the product in the marketplace, so the consumer thinks of only your brand when the need arises So back to Big Ass Fans, a firm that makes six- to 24-foot diameter ceiling fans that use their immense size--not their speed--to move massive amounts of air over large spaces (think airports, zoos, warehouses, and other cavernous structures). What began as the HVLS (High Volume/Low Speed) Fan Company, a boring, hard-to-remember name that simply described the technology, the company began to notice with each installation that people looked skyward saying, "That sure is a big ass fan." They embraced the quirky name and became Big Ass Fans. It struck me that BAF makes a good example of the three Killer Branding steps: FOCUS: They have a laser-focused product line (big industrial fans). ALIGNMENT: From their product, to their technology, to their provocative name, to their fun and quirky website, everything they do connects the dots for customers and prospects. They are an “aligned” company. LINKAGE: Their fun and irreverent name and brand personality provides great linkage to their offerings. They even put their logo on donkey-shaped squeeze toys and other merchandise and the company donates every merchandise-related sale to a non-profit donkey rescue shelter. They are, by definition, a Killer Brand. But here's the thing: Brand personality is their primary differentiator. They weren't first in the marketplace. They don't necessarily have better service or a wider selection or better technology. And if they do, it's not the major attribute that sets them apart. Their identity helps them stand out from the crowd, get more word of mouth, have an easier time getting press, are easy to remember, and have a likeable personality. And it's cool to buy a big ass fan from Big Ass Fans.
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