The Olympic Games are truly inspiring. In fact, there are more inspiring lessons in there for marketeers than one may think. It inspired my recent post on CPGBranding.com. Follow this link to read the original post. But allow me to expand on that post here, hence Part II. The Games didn’t just inspired lessons for marketers in the CPG realm, but these lessons have broad implications for marketing in all arenas.

Successful branding takes a lot of work. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Fortune 500 powerhouse, or if you’re a Main Street Store, or if you’re just you. Overnight success doesn’t happen. If you want success in the future, plant that seed today. In fact, that success should be based on one thing: performance. Take social media for example. It’s the latest hype. However, social media wouldn’t help you much if your store doesn’t carry what your shopper is looking for. Today’s breakthroughs are still built on yesterday’s fundamentals. Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, all those extra things that you do would make it that much better. Social media could be a great thing.

However, everything good can still be lost in just a moment. Think Toyota. The key lesson here is to not avoid the problems. Don’t think they will go away. They never do. Face them head on, and face them fast. Brands could be defined by a single disaster, or the response thereof. Johnson & Johnson taught us that lesson with the Tylenol incident.

At the end of the day, everything you do comes down to the closing. Could you close that sale? Could you close that job interview? Sometimes, you’re just bested by your competitors. But, with enough hard work, and perhaps a little luck, you could win.

Photo Credit: Megan Cole

Related articles online

• Toyota’s Tylenol moment (money.cnn.com)