2 ways to succeed

It used to be (so I'm told), "Build it and they will come". In the 1960's we had less advertising messages clamoring for our attention and far fewer media options to use for advertising.
We had ABC, CBS and NBC as our three TV choices. Period. Maybe 5 radio stations in our town. Now Arbitron lists over 20 radio stations and our television choices are now ranging from 30 to 200+ in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The landscape has changed but the rules remain the same. You can succeed as a short term flash in the pan, overnight sensation and plan on disappearing after a few weeks, months or years. Or there is the other more profitable, approach to success. This 2nd method follows the Golden Rule of treating everyone the way you would want to be treated. Don't compromise your standards or cut corners. Apologize when something goes wrong. And be real. It lasts longer. Set your measurements for growth in years and decades, not hours and weeks.
The folks at Maple Creative wrote about an example of the second way to succeed on their blog:

A to Z of Marketing: Y - Yuengling

Yes, I like a good beer, especially one with character. Nothing compares to an ice cold, complex ale with a great aroma and a long finish. But that's not why I am telling you about Yuengling.

This is America's oldest beer, brewed in a very humble (take that to mean real) location--Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It remains a family-owned business, dating back to 1829, and is run by a real, hands-on, shirtsleeves-rolled-up sort of owner, Dick Yuengling. He is not a paper-thin, glamorous PR superstar. How cool is that!

And that is a perfect segue into the marketing significance. The story here is that Yuengling is real. It is genuine. The brand and its products reflect the personality, commitment and style of its owners. Yeungling is a brand that is rooted in reality. And in today's over-hyped, glitz-and-glamour, built-to-flip world, real brands are refreshing. Yuengling has steadliy grown its sales over the past decade (more than 25% in fact) without flashy advertising and without hype.

So how has this brand become noteworthy? How has Yuengling grown? Why do I even know about it? (Aside from the fact that I have a couple good friends from Eastern Pa.) Why does my buddy Kerry refer to it as "that golden nectar"? Well, there are a few good reasons.

Primarily, the company has been consistently dedicated to making a great quality of beer. That's the first part. Secondly, Yuengling has had the courage and vision to innovate. No, they have not changed rapidly or whimsically; instead they have changed strategically. For example, to survive Prohibition, it switched production to "almost beer." And when competitors began mass producing lighter beers, Yuengling spotted an opening and filled the niche by introducing more flavorful, richer brews. Finally, Yuengling has benefited from some well-deserved and long overdue earned media coverage. The chart above shows the huge rise in awareness of this brand when a New York Times feature was published (May 2005).

So what's the lesson here? Reality reigns supreme. Consistently great brands prevail. Slow, steady growth sustains companies and brands over decades. That's real success. And that is real great beer!

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