By Mark V.B. Partridge:
… It is Tuesday morning, June 6, 1989. Picture yourself in a law firm conference room overlooking Manhattan. You are Henry Kravitz, the leader of the investment firm KKR, which recently captured massive public attention by completing a leveraged buyout of R.J.R. Nabisco, for $25 billion.
You are in New York for the sale of the Nabisco European cookie, cracker and peanut business.
You are standing in that conference room next to your counterpart from BSN, the largest food company in Europe, who is buying that business. The sun rises behind the Chrysler building. Attorneys and bankers buzz around the room finishing last minute details. A waiter wearing a tuxedo wheels in a cart of champagne. Someone cups his hand over the mouthpiece of a telephone and announces: ‘The money has moved.’ Champagne corks pop.
And then you are presented with a ceremonial check for $2.5 billion.
It’s a lot of money for snack food. But that is the key. BSN already had the knowledge and means to sell those products. What BSN really wanted were the famous Nabisco brands. OREO cookies, RITZ crackers, PLANTERS peanuts.
As a business leader - entrepreneur, business owner, CEO - you have a choice. Which do you want to be? A seller of commodity products or services with little added value? Or the business with the billion dollar cookie? The difference is the value created by developing and protecting your brand.
Here are five simple, low-cost steps to start building your own valuable brand.
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