Category before brand

Laura Ries does a nice job explaining the hierarchy of consumer thought, especially when it comes to choosing brands.

Yes, having a strong brand is important. But it’s even more important that your brand leads in a relevant, vibrant category. You can have the clearest, most compelling brand in the world, but if it’s playing in a largely irrelevant category, it just doesn’t matter.

So what happens when your once-great brand is suddenly in a category that nobody cares about anymore? Figure out where your customers went, which new category they care about how, and create a new brand to dominate there. This is the challenge facing Dell right now, and many others in shifting markets.

Read more from Laura here.