“Most companies believe that branding is the heart and soul of marketing, typically taking the same approach, no matter the situation. Stan Bernard is here to get you out of this “Brandwashed” mindset and to help you set up your own winning strategy. Learn how to take the first steps to establishing your own playbook full of new strategies designed for your own individual success instead of relying on what works for others.”

Memorable Moment
“ “Everybody seems to be Brand-washed.”
— Stan Bernard, MD, MBA

3 Top Takeaways: The Transcender System - Brands Don’t Win

• I took an interest in helping people win. “Do you want to win?”
• Create, Communicate and Champion the Agenda.
• We’re not playing their game; we are creating our own game.
• Transcenders create their own game and force their competitors to play it.

“The premise of the book is that certain successful companies use quite a different approach than regular companies. You analyze bigger brands like Apple, Starbucks, or Peloton, and explain to us why is that they were able to change the game and that they don't play the same game of brand differentiation like most companies do. But rather they play their own game and are able to rise above the competition, which you compare to how politicians conduct their elections. You call these successful companies ‘Transcenders’ and regular ones ‘Traditionalists.’”

“Ever noticed that while most brands battle constantly with competitors for small gains, leaders like Apple, Tesla, and Amazon play in an entirely different sphere? Stan Bernard, author of Brands Don’t Win believes the branding game is a lost cause. In this episode, he tells you how leaders transcend branding by creating a game no one else can win — and how to do it for your product. Stan’s new book walks you through the Transcender System’s proven and practical three steps, with case studies including Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, and Tesla as well as emerging leaders like Halo Top and Peloton. Join Graphos Product President Laurier Mandin for this mind-blowing discussion with Stan Bernard.”

Listen to host Eric Dye and guest Dr. Stan Bernard discuss the following:

• The title of your book Brands Don’t Win is definitely contrarian and seems to go against what we all believe about branding. Why don’t brands win?
• The book explains the Transcender System – a unique, three-step system that you’ve developed. Can you explain it and tell us how it can change any organization or brand?
• Can you give us some examples of companies that use the Transcender System effectively?
• In the book you draw parallels between branding and politics – and political campaigns. Can you explain why?
• Is the Transcender System a marketing strategy or a company-wide initiative? Can it work for brands or companies of any size or in any market?
• Where do you see branding heading in 2022 and beyond? Do you see any trends taking shape that brands need to start planning for?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What has changed in marketing that means branding alone is no longer as effective as it once was?
• The paradigm shift of elected advocacy to selected advocacy
• The important role that influencer marketing plays in Stan’s Transcender System vs Traditionalist Systems of marketing
• Understanding how to apply ‘Campaign Agendas’ to your business, inspired by political campaigning
• Peloton’s success in creating a cult-like following of ‘Advengelicals’
• How Starbucks became and continue to be a Transcender business without necessarily having the best coffee

"Virtually every company’s playing brand checkers. When every company’s playing the same game, and specifically a simple game such as checkers, it’s very difficult to win. What I explain in Brands Don’t Win is that you can break out of the brand jail, get rid of the brand cuffs, and play your own game by using the Transcender System to create a game only your company can win and force your competitors to respond to you."

"Everyone assumes that branding is the only way to compete. Virtually all companies compete this way. However, I encourage my clients and readers of my book Brands Don’t Win to use an alternative and better way to compete: The Transcender System."

“Stan Bernard is an internationally recognized, award-winning global competition consultant, keynote speaker, and published author. He is the president of Bernard Associates, and the creator of the Transcender System™. A former senior fellow at the Wharton School of Business, Dr. Bernard has been a consultant to leading businesses around the world for nearly four decades, working with more than 150 companies across six continents. In Stan Bernard’s new book, Brands Don’t Win – How Transcenders Change the Game, he covers how leading companies win by changing the game.”

“The Transcender System levels the playing field so that entrepreneurial companies can compete and win versus much larger competitors. Since these Transcender companies use a political playbook instead of the traditional product playbook, it no longer matters that bigger companies can spend more on advertising, promotions, and sales forces.”

Stan Bernard discusses his book "Brands Don't Win" and how today's most successful brands trescend the typical brand game to define new markets and overcome t heir competition. Stan is a Senior Fellow at The Wharton School and you've seen him in places like the Wall Street Journal and Businessweek.

“We have a doctor in the house! Stan Bernard, MD, MBA, is an internationally recognized, award-winning global competition consultant, keynote speaker, and best-selling author. We discuss his book Brands Don't Win, which was named the #1 Business Book of 2021 by Firebird, the Transcender System, and the secret to why brands like Tesla, Peloton, and Nike win.”

Stan Bernard, author of Brands Don’t Win, reveals the proven, practical three-step Transcender System™ that leading companies use to transcend their rivals and own their markets.