The Consumer Monopoly

What makes a brand distinctive? Better yet, let's name some distinctive brands:

-McDonald's
-Coke
-Hershey's
-Campbell's

If I say soup, what is the first brand name that comes to mind? For me, this is easy. It is Campbell's. (sorry all of you Progresso folks)

So, for argument's sake, a consumer monopoly is emblazoned in the minds and hearts of consumers. It took Coke years, literally hundreds of years of brand building, positioning itself in tin-type pictures gripped in the mitt of Santa Clause, shoving the red color in your face, and endlessly presenting a curved bottle shaped like a hoop skirt in order to establish its endearing presence.

The reason, that Coke is a consumer monopoly is because, even with unlimited resources, it would be very difficult for you and I to start a soft drink business and competitively take out Coke.

The same goes for Campbell's. Even with a billion dollars, I doubt you or I could start a soup company that could rival Cambpell's within a few years. Again, when I hear "soup", I think of Campbell's and a red and white can.

So qualitatively, a consumer monopoly is a well-established brand, founded on years of brand-building that could not easily disappear from the hearts and minds of consumers and could not easily be competitively replicated.

This as opposed to a commodity type business ... a business that has no brand distinction. The classic example that I like to use is a gas station. Even if I am loyal to Joe's gas station and like the sandwiches that Joe fixes at lunch, if Bob's across the street starts offering gas for 25 cents cheaper, I will immediately abandon Joe's. In the consumer monopoly scenario, even if Pepsi started offering cans for 25 cents cheaper, I doubt I would abandon my Coke. The same goes for Campbell's soup. Even if Progresso offered a more price conscious soup, I would find it hard to abandon Cambpell's Chicken Noodle.

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