{"id":13286,"date":"2020-10-07T23:23:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T05:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/?p=13286"},"modified":"2020-10-07T23:24:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T05:24:25","slug":"lessons-on-branding-from-expert-gordon-bowen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/lessons-on-branding-from-expert-gordon-bowen\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons On Branding From Expert Gordon Bowen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three years ago this week I was sitting in the home of world renowned branding genius, Gordon Bowen, founder and Global Chairman of McGarryBowen<\/a> and Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu Aegis Network<\/a>.\u00a0 The very next day I wrote the following article for Forbes.com<\/a>:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lessons On Branding Shared By Advertising Expert Gordon Bowen of McGarryBowen<\/p>\n

Last night I had the opportunity to go to the home of Gordon Bowen, Founder and Chairman of McGarryBowen<\/a>, esteemed international Advertising Agency, representing such clients as Disney, American Express, Intel, Marriott, Verizon, Crayola, Chase, and many other iconic brands. As for Gordon, Time Magazine dubbed him the creator of \u201cemotional blockbusters\u201d for his creation of legendary campaigns such as \u201cMembership Has Its Privileges\u201d for American Express and the \u201cChase Freedom\u201d campaign which was described as being \u201cthe most successful credit card launch in history\u201d.<\/p>\n

The first thing that stands out when you first meet Gordon is his humility and his generosity. Last night was a perfect example. Gordon had been asked by The Cynosure Group<\/a>, a wealth advisory firm that manages direct private equity investments, to speak at a dinner for around 70 of their existing and prospective clients. The Cynosure Group had planned to host the dinner at a hotel but Gordon graciously offered to host the event at his own home, stating he thought it would allow guests to enjoy a more intimate and personal setting.<\/p>\n

As I arrived at his beautiful home what struck me most was the sign he has hanging over his front door which reads, \u201cForget not to show love unto strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.\u201d (Hebrews 13:2). Not only because that happens to be one of my favorite verses from the Bible, but because displaying that above his front door is a most brilliant way to make every guest feel valued as they enter his home.<\/p>\n

Following a wonderful dinner Gordon gave a talk titled \u201cThe Power of Belief\u201d. He shared stories of several ad campaigns his agency had created over the years and shared the thought that went into creating each one. He gave an amazing talk and I wish I could have captured every word of it to share, but a few of the key points which stuck out the most to me were:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t fix it, feature it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gordon explained that sometimes it is necessary to embrace what you can\u2019t change, for example, when they were hired to come up with a campaign for Miracle Whip they discovered that people either passionately loved Miracle Whip or they absolutely hated it and there was no middle ground. When they realized they couldn\u2019t fix that, they decided to feature it by developing the \u201cTake A Side\u201d campaign for Miracle Whip to showcase both the lovers and the haters of the product:<\/p>\n