Jack Trout:Exploit your leadership

Jack Trout writes in Forbes:

What most bewilders me in the marketing world are companies that don't exploit their leadership. Instead of "I'm lovin' it," McDonald’s could be, "The world's favorite place to eat." Instead of "Connecting people," Nokia could be "The world's No. 1 cell phone."

Leadership is the most powerful way to differentiate a brand. The reason is that it's the most direct way to establish a brand's credentials. And these credentials are the collateral you put up to guarantee performance.

Also, when you have leadership credentials, your prospects are likely to believe almost anything you say about your brand. (Because you're the leader.) Humans tend to equate "bigness" with success, status and leadership. We give respect and admiration to those that are the biggest.

Powerful leaders can take ownership of the words that stands for their brands' categories. You can test the validity of a leadership claim by a word association test.