The Power of Branding…as taught by my 7 year old

I’ve managed to successfully turn my 7 year old son into a rabid football fan.

Now, I get to watch the games with him and the “father-son” bonding air cover is all I need when my wife says “too much football.”

While I do my best to mute commercials, I am starting to see the power of marketing make its impact on the young boy’s mind.

Here’s but one example (we’ll leave out the fact that he now says ‘hey, there’s a Chevy Silverado!” while we are driving-something he only knows because of football games or that he and his friends now sing “Every Kiss begins with Kay!”):

Let’s talk about the halftime show…

“Hey, let’s see the halftime show,” I’ll say.

“You mean, the ‘VISA halftime show,” he will correct me.

“Son, it’s actually a halftime show. Visa just pays to have their name there.”

“I don’t care, I like the ‘Visa Halftime Show.”

He’ll repeat this for the Toyota and Verizon halftime shows.

Interestingly enough, he is developing brand preference because of the quality of the programming/highlights associated with it.

So, in his mind, Visa is the best. Toyota is the 2nd best. Verizon is the 3rd best.

Lesson: When you attach your brand to a partner, makes sure it’s a high quality partner. Otherwise, even a 7 year old can tell that your brand is not the best.