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[2008-Present]
relationship with another brand or a company loyal to your product— which can be even more profitable. That is why companies will advertise their charitable work or even a community or cultural event sometimes—not just what they are trying to sell. Advertising is also about who you are working to become. Except for the brand on your cattle, over time your brand will have to change and evolve. If you use the same brand on your cattle that your great-great grandfather did on the family ranch 100 years ago, that is great. That depth and history is part of your brand (through that iconic brand). But your overall brand will grow and develop as your company does. We all might recognize a classic Ford F-1 from 1948, but Ford has come out with quit a few models since then and that original pick-up would not meet the needs of modern-day drivers. I started working for the ABBI when I did their first magazine (which wasn’t much more than a newsletter) in 2002. I worked for the PBR brand before that, long before there was an ABBI brand. 13 years later, there are very few staff members who have been a part of this family of brands longer than I have. That means I have seen a lot of changes in the brands and understand the importance of both change and continuity. It also means I am considered one of the “old-timers” which is not something I’m particularly happy about. I’ve been around long enough
to have watched stars (both men and bulls) start their career and then retire, which I am happy about because I was able to witness the entire career of some of the legends. Sometimes we get so attached to a brand, and aren’t always eager to embrace a new look, or design or change. I finally retired my ABBI briefcase (with the original ABBI logo) just last month after getting a new briefcase (with the new logo) in Pueblo earlier this month. I really, really, liked my old briefcase (despite the fact that it was missing some parts and looked pretty worn). But change can be vital to branding, so I traded in my 2003 model for a 2011 model—because I, too, am part of the ABBI brand. Every person I sit next to on an airplane who sees my briefcase asks me what I do. By the end of the flight I usually have at least talked them into reading this magazine or convinced them to watch PBR on TV. We can all grow the sport through working together to build the ABBI brand as well as our own. Perhaps this New Year is a chance for all of us to examine what parts of our brand we want to keep, renew, change or retire—while still remaining true to what our brands are really about. And when it comes to riding for the brand? Well, as far as I’m concerned loyalty and supporting something you believe in never goes out of style.
The American Bucking Bull q Jan/Feb 2011
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