If you and I were playing a friendly game of word association and I happened to toss out brand enthusiast, I bet direct marketer wouldn’t be the first thing you’d toss back. “Brand, shmand,” many a direct marketer is wont to say. “Does it sell or not?”

Point taken, but let’s not throw out the brand with the bathwater. A strong brand makes any direct marketer’s job easier. But also keep in mind what branding isn’t.

It’s important not to mistake a logo, look or tagline for a brand. Logos et al serve only to identify which products and services are yours. You give the concept of yours equity through consistent delivery. That means that the brand gives the logo meaning, not the other way around. A solid brand is the by-product of doing things right.

How to measure your brand strength
Here are five ways to test your brand strength. (The results may be revealing.)

1. The Masked Logo Test: If you hid your logo, would customers be able to tell your product or service from that of the competition by the experience you create for them? A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you’re not as different as you think.

2. The Fickle Customer Test: Would your customers readily jilt you for a lower-priced look-alike? A no indicates a strong brand. A yes indicates that, to your customers, you’re just another commodity.

3. The Oh, Come On Test: Do people believe your claims, and not just pass them off as empty corporate boasts? A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you’re pretty good at kidding yourself, while failing to notice as your customers roll their eyes and say, “Oh, come on.”

4. The Value Statement Transplant Test: About those values immortalized on your wall — could your competitors lay equal claim to them? A no indicates a strong brand. A yes indicates your value statement may be an exercise in spewing the usual hot air.

5. The Do Your Employees Get It Test: Can you tell from your employees’ behavior that they embrace the values that you think you stand for? A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates that you may have communicating and training to do, policies to revise, systems to redesign, or any combination of the above.

To be fair, no law says you absolutely must build a brand that has the potential to be revered for centuries. Marketing history brims with profitable short-lived brands, and with brands that made money even as they became the stuff of parody. A strong brand becomes more important when long-term credibility is an integral part of your marketing strategy.

The makings of a strong brand exist within most companies, or at least within the minds of their leadership. The trick is to discover the brand, develop it, live it and ensure its consistent delivery.

If you need help, there are many fine companies, including some ad agencies and direct response firms, that can lend a hand. But beware of anyone who tries to convince you that a logo and slogan are the answer to your branding prayers. To paraphrase, with apologies, the Epistle of James: “Show me your brand without your works, and I will show you my brand by my works. O foolish man, a brand without works is dead.”

Steve Cuno, something of a brand himself, heads the RESPONSE Agency in Salt Lake City. He is the author of the book Prove It Before You Promote It and a popular speaker for the Direct Marketing Association, American Advertising Federation, James Randi Educational Foundation and others. E-mail him at steve@responseagency.com.