--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only brand names register in the mind…" description: "\"Only brand names register in the mind... What you should generally do is take a regular word and use it out of context to connote the primary attribute..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png" --- # Only brand names register in the mind... What you should… ![“Only brand names register in the mind... What you should generally do is take a regular word and use it out of context to connote the primary attribute of your brand.” quote by Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png) > “Only brand names register in the mind... What you should generally do is take a regular word and use it out of context to connote the primary attribute of your brand.” [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He advises using ordinary words out of context to convey a brand’s core attribute, creating memorable associations. **In simple terms:** Use common words to highlight brand traits. Key Takeaway Craft a clear, attribute‑focused brand name. Themes branding marketing strategy language use Mood strategic creative Type marketing branding When to use this quote - advertising campaigns - product naming - market research Key Concepts semantic positioning brand identity consumer perception Questions to Reflect On - What core attribute truly defines your brand? - How can you ensure the word resonates across cultures? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on a single attribute may limit brand flexibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brand names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brand-names/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [What college boils down to is a brand name stamped on the graduate for the benefit of corporate consumers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-beale/what-college-boils-down-to-is-a-brand-name-stamped-on-the-graduate/) [Theodore Beale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-beale/) > [Like any big company, they've got a brand name, and they've got to keep extending it. Because the reality is, there's not a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tinker/like-any-big-company-they-ve-got-a-brand-name-and-they-ve-got-to-keep/) John Tinker > [I'm not denying that in the world there's been some tremendous musical happenings, like DJ Shadow or whatever, that kind of thing. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-morley/i-m-not-denying-that-in-the-world-there-s-been-some-tremendous/) [Paul Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-morley/) > [That said, a lot of people buy products with "green" in the brand name, but make no attempt to understand what it would really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/that-said-a-lot-of-people-buy-products-with-green-in-the-brand-name/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [I would not wear any clothes that had a brand name on them, and I only read books that were canonical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/i-would-not-wear-any-clothes-that-had-a-brand-name-on-them-and-i-only/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [Too many commercials. Too many lies. Too many celebrities. I don't recognize. Too many brand names. Too many magazines. I got so much sensation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-small/too-many-commercials-too-many-lies-too-many-celebrities-i-don-t/) [Fred Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-small/) > [The one hit song that I have tremendous gratitude for is Boots, because it has a life of its own. It's like being identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-sinatra/the-one-hit-song-that-i-have-tremendous-gratitude-for-is-boots/) [Nancy Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-sinatra/) > [True Love. I’m starting to suspect the concept is pure illusion, an insipid brand name manufactured by Hallmark and Disney.” — Cupcake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/true-love-i-m-starting-to-suspect-the-concept-is-pure-illusion-an/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [Brand names aren't important to me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/brand-names-aren-t-important-to-me-at-all/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [When people use your brand name as a verb, that is remarkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-whitman/when-people-use-your-brand-name-as-a-verb-that-is-remarkable/) [Meg Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-whitman/) > [Your brand name is only as good as your reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/your-brand-name-is-only-as-good-as-your-reputation/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I'm gonna do clothes, but stuff that kids can afford. I want to get into the high fashion world very soon, but the stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/i-m-gonna-do-clothes-but-stuff-that-kids-can-afford-i-want-to-get/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [“I do not believe in the power of brand names or in emulating any of the brand name investors out there. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/i-do-not-believe-in-the-power-of-brand-names-or-in-emulating-any-of/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [Brand names are well known to business school professors, but only one professor is a brand name herself. Call her Professor Oprah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/brand-names-are-well-known-to-business-school-professors-but-only-one/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) ## More by Al Ries > [“Never run advertising until the major publicity possibilities have been exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/never-run-advertising-until-the-major-publicity-possibilities-have/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [It normally takes decades to build a brand... It's the forgetting of the old truth that allows a person to accept a new truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/it-normally-takes-decades-to-build-a-brand-it-s-the-forgetting-of-the/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [Marketing is what a company is in business to do. Marketing is a company's ultimate objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/marketing-is-what-a-company-is-in-business-to-do-marketing-is-a/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/the-next-generation-product-almost-never-comes-from-the-previous/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [Your brand's power lies in dominance. It is better to have 50% of one market, instead of 10% of five markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/your-brand-s-power-lies-in-dominance-it-is-better-to-have-50-of-one/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [What's your brand? If you can't answer that question about your own brand in two or three words, your brand's in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/what-s-your-brand-if-you-can-t-answer-that-question-about-your-own/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [Changing the direction of a large company is like trying to turn an aircraft carrier. It takes a mile before anything happens. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/changing-the-direction-of-a-large-company-is-like-trying-to-turn-an/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [A branding program should be designed to differentiate your cow from all the other cattle on the range. Even if all the cattle on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/a-branding-program-should-be-designed-to-differentiate-your-cow-from/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [When a really new product comes along, it's almost always a mistake to hang a well-known name on it. The reason is obvious. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/when-a-really-new-product-comes-along-it-s-almost-always-a-mistake-to/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [“What’s called luck is usually an outgrowth of successful communication.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/what-s-called-luck-is-usually-an-outgrowth-of-successful-communication/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [“Mind-changing is the road to advertising disaster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/mind-changing-is-the-road-to-advertising-disaster/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [A successful branding program is based on the concept of singularity. It creates in the mind of the prospect the perception that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/a-successful-branding-program-is-based-on-the-concept-of-singularity/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [To get into the consumer's mind, you have to sacrifice. You have to reduce the essence of your brand to a single thought or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/to-get-into-the-consumer-s-mind-you-have-to-sacrifice-you-have-to/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [Customers want brands that are narrow in scope and distinguishable by a single word, the shorter the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/customers-want-brands-that-are-narrow-in-scope-and-distinguishable-by/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [“The mind, as a defense against the volume of today’s communications, screens and rejects much of the information offered it. In general, the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/the-mind-as-a-defense-against-the-volume-of-today-s-communications/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) [Explore all 46 Al Ries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) ## More Attributes quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/developing-christlike-attributes-in-our-lives-is-not-an-easy-task/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only brand names register in the mind... What you should generally do is take a regular word and use it out of context to connote the primary attribute of your brand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Al Ries" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-what-you-should-generally-do-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attributes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-what-you-should-generally-do-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/al-ries-14351_attributes_only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-wh_1903415.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only brand names register in the mind... What you should generally do is take a regular word and use it out…” — Al Ries", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Al Ries", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only brand names register in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-what-you-should-generally-do-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/only-brand-names-register-in-the-mind-what-you-should-generally-do-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```