Mine goes to eleven.

If you have read thus far you should have a pretty good perception of what Camitz vodka stands for. You have got to know the people behind the product, including their strengths and weaknesses, dreams and nightmares. You know all there is to know about the brand’s shape, function, quality and performance – including the shortfalls. You should also have gained an insight into the significance of the brand, the feelings it creates and what it means to you.

You have also been given a description of the brand. Not an ordinary description, by any means, it is actually a much more personal and genuine description than you usually come across.

It is only the moral of the story that is lacking. What does the story want to tell us? Are there any fundamental practical elements that we can put to good use and implement in our daily life? We are coming to the theoretical crunch. We are about to take a leap into the complex area of management philosophy and brand strategy.

Let’s not make it more difficult than it really is. It is best to start from the beginning, from the only thing we are certain about, namely that modern brand strategy is based on five simple standpoints:

First you have to ask who you are and where you are. Your qualities, starting point and surrounding terrain are the given prerequisites for everything you aim to do.

Then you need to decide where you want to be. Remember that the consumer is the intermediate goal that takes you to the destination, sales. You need to choose a direction, as it doesn’t matter how fast you run if you are running in the wrong direction.

When all this is done, only the tactical side remains: to run. You must be flexible. If you stumble across a swamp, you must be ready to wade or swim. If you run into steep cliffs, you must be prepared to make a detour.

General Patton had a simple rule when it came to the relationship between strategy and tactics. He usually said, “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do, and let them surprise you with their results.”

In theory it is simple. The problem is to get it to work in reality. All this is an integral part of the mission for Mattias and Peter to establish and build an internationally, marketable brand.

But what is a brand?

And how do you go about building one?

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