Branding Lessons from the "Jersey Fresh" Tomato

A Jersey Tomato is not unlike a well-branded mid-sized company. On its own, the tomato has limited appeal. You can't eat it as you would an apple. But as part of the whole, the Jersey Tomato is often that essential ingredient, whether in a sauce, on a sandwich, or as a side dish. Much like mid-sized organizations who provide an integral component, service, technology, or resource to a larger whole, the tomato is one of those key ingredients. A slice of a Jersey-fresh tomato on a hamburger doesn't make the hamburger, but it makes the overall dish more appealing.

And the "Jersey Fresh" distinction gives our local tomatoes their brand identity, their own special niche among all types of tomatoes. In much the same manner, a well-branded mid-sized company can form its own niche, its own version of #1 as an essential ingredient to a better whole. So, mid-sized companies can learn a valuable lesson from our State's prized vegetable: You don't have to be all things to all people, or go the road alone. You simply have to position yourself as a distinct and essential ingredient that improves or enhances the end result.

This is not unlike the famous BASF branding message: "We don't make the things you buy. We make the things you buy better." Now if only BASF pushed their branding a little harder by using the recognizable statement as a basis for explaining EXACTLY what it is they do. I may be biased, but the "Jersey Fresh Tomato" has covered that point as well, with clarity and simplicity.



Branding Lessons from the "Jersey Fresh" Tomato - To learn more about this author, visit Ed Delia's Website.

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