Putting Your Brand Before Sales

CVS yesterday made a bold decision to halt all sales of tobacco products.

It was a bold move because the brand is now walking away from a huge revenue stream, which for a publicly traded company (or any company for that matter) is very bold.

The decision made instant news with words of support from all over news and social media including the Obamas.  Perfect publicity for the brand.

Even I was called by a couple reporters to comment on the situation (click here for article from Digiday).  My take on it was pretty simple:  CVS put its brand before its revenue.  They made a decision based on who they are as a brand, which is exactly what any brand should do.  And truthfully, by really defining who you are as a brand it makes these kinds of decisions far easier.  So rather than getting caught up in "sales," the company is caught up in who they want to be and what their customers want from them. 

Let your brand be your guide.

CVS has its priorities straight.  Good move.

What's your experience?  JIM.

PS - Join us for live tweeting about the marketing during the Olympics Opening Ceremony on 2/7/14 at #OlympicsExp.  @PhillyAdMan will be my guest host.