The Food Network is built on smart branding - for the Network as a whole, as well as for its individual celebrity chefs/hosts.

Two of its biggest brands are Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee.
These two, in particular, provide an interesting branding lesson: you can occupy the same positioning within a niche, yet still have a brand that sets you apart.

The positioning these two stars occupy is one of authority in home-making convenience: quick and easy, quality meal preparation for busy women (mostly). Yet each has been able to carve out a separate and distinct brand within that same space.

Rachael Ray’s empire is build on the foundation of her very emphatic tagline – “30 minute meals.” The name says it all. Sandra Lee’s tagline is “semi-homemade meals” - preparing meals with the aid of pre-packaged ingredients. It is essentially the same positioning, but without the exact time period that Ray uses. The implication is the same: you’ll be able to prepare quality meals at home faster.

While both have been able to establish a sense of authority within the convenience field, interestingly, their authority does not come from industry credentials. The sense of authority they have been able to build comes from their unique personalities and presentation, as well as their individual stories. They learned how to cook on their own, either because they had to (in Lee’s case) or as in Ray’s case, her mother was in the food service business, and an avid cook

Leveraging a Brand Into Multiple Products

Both have been been able to leverage their brands to create and promote multiple products. Some of Lee’s branded products include: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Desserts, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking II, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Grilling … she even ventures into Rachael Ray’s turf with Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20-Minute Meals.

Rachael Ray’s branded product line includes cookbooks, such as :30 Minute Meals, 30-Minute Meals 2, Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals: Cooking 'Round the Clock,
Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals for Kids: Cooking Rocks!,
Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes, among others.

And because both of their brands have been established in a highly scalable niche – home convenience, they have been able to easily grow their product lines beyond food, into the further reaches of home-making, on TV, in print, etc. (Lee actually started her brand in home-making field and then went into food).

Unique Marketing Angles Within the Same Niche

In their products as well as in their shows, their distinctive personalities, look, style etc. further differentiates their brands from one another. But the difference is built on a foundation of strong taglines that embody unique marketing angle within the same niche.

The lesson here is just because someone else may have established an authority positioning in a niche you want, doesn’t mean you can’t create a different, yet successful brand within the same space.

However, attempts to copy or merely imitate a brand within a niche position will not only fail, it will mark you as inauthentic. You need to be able to take unique angle so you can carve out your own space within the niche you want.

© Altman Communications 2008

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Leon Altman is a Internet marketing consultant, copywriter and entrepreneur with 25 years of experience. For his free Internet marketing e-course, go to www.YourMarketingRoadmap.com . For his copywriting services, go to www.altmancopypro.com.