To air (or not) is human

The Daily Herald is a brand. For better or worse that brand is determined by your actions.

Deciding not to air the 911 tapes is an expression of what's right for the Herald. You may have had your readers in mind in that decision but ultimately you did what was right for the paper and its expression. And people (your readers) will either reward you for your actions (buy your paper) or not.

The important thing for any brand is to be true to itself. Then people will seek what you offer. You can try and be everything to everyone, many companies do, but that usually waters down the brand and makes it susceptible to a new offering. It happens everyday. From airlines to soda pop, brands struggle with who they are and how they act. But the ones that have focus and understand who they are usually the most successful.

Maybe your brand is a reflection of the community, then reaching out for an opinion on this issue is good marketing.

It's getting a pulse on what the community is thinking and feeling which will inform your positioning.

What scares me as a marketer is hear a client making a decision to do something because everyone else will be doing it. That is a recipe for disaster.

Victor LaPorte

Mount Prospect