Brands That Almost Weren’t

I was in a Carl’s Jr. the other day and was surprised to see that one of the country’s strongest hamburger chains never started out that way. In fact, originally Carl’s was a hot dog stand that morphed over time and repositioned itself as a hamburger QSR legend. Apparently, from an article I just read, it isn’t uncommon.

“If you don’t know where you’re going…any road will get you there.” It’s one of my favorite quotes and I use it most often to refer to creative executions or ideas in search of a strategy.

But in this case, my favorite quote almost works in reverse. Some very favorite brands are household names that almost were not, if not for the one ingredient that sometimes separates the brand “haves” vs. the “have-nots”... and that is persistence.

Wrigley, Raytheon, Taco Bell, Samsung…even Ben & Jerry’s didn’t start out to be the businesses or brand icons they are today.

There is a great article located on MSN that traces these rather meandering roots: MSN Money: 10 Companies That Almost Weren't

I recall the story about Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonald’s franchising empire, who started as a milkshake machine salesman. He saw the concept and had the vision that the original McDonald brothers never did. The brothers McDonald, you see, were happy to keep their success and vision located in Des Plaines, Illinois. But Ray Kroc saw more and ultimately bought the brothers out. Later when the brothers finally got it, and opened another McDonald’s nearby (thus violating their contractual agreement), Kroc had to sue and legally made the McDonald brothers take their own (brand) name off their new restaurant…and they were never heard from again.

All this leads to some of the intangibles of building a brand:

• Having an idea or unique concept.
• Uniquely positioning it in a way that cannot be easily or inexpensively duplicated.
• Having the vision to know where you are going and staying on the path you’ve chosen.
• Not being afraid to modify the vision of a better concept that arises from the experience.

After all, Edison didn’t start out to invent the lightbulb.