How to Build a Brand That (Literally) Connects

Direct-response advertising, or brand awareness marketing? The answer should be both.

EXPERT OPINION BY JEFF HADEN @JEFF_HADEN

Wyndham Clark, T-Mobile brand ambassador. Photo: Getty Images

Every time we go to dinner, a couple of entrepreneur friends wind up arguing over the same thing:

One only does direct-response marketing: no brand positioning, no brand awareness, no tie-ins. If he can’t objectively measure the result of an advertising strategy, he doesn’t do it.

The other believes in building and extending his brand through image-building, emotional connection, and mutually-beneficial partnerships with other brands.

The nature of my businesses leaves me without a dog in the advertising hunt (although we are dipping our toes........

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