I kind of hate marketing buzzwords and sayings. If I hear the phrase “think out of the box” one more time I might have to go oh, I don’t know, ummm…”postal”?

That’s why I feel a little silly writing about the buzziest buzzword of all: Branding.

How many of you already know what Branding is? Almost all of you? I thought so. I told you. It’s as if the word ‘”Branding” was it’s own oh, I don’t know, ummm…”Brand”?

How does that happen? How does a word that was once used to describe Teutonic torture and cattle mutilation turn into a nice, respectable descriptor for product recognition? How did the definition of that particular word transform from the act of burning flesh into the act of burning memory? How? Simple. Repetition.

I may not be ancient but I remember the days when the word Branding was not used, at least not its current interpretation. Once, there was a day when the word Branding was uttered only by cowboys. Having lived in Texas all my life, I still hear the word used in this exact fashion.

"Today it's part of the language, the lingo, the vernacular, the common tongue. Ask your waiter. He can tell you what Branding means."

Just the same, as a kid, the word was shorter: Brand. Sometimes it was two words: Brand Name. I heard it piping in through my TV every day ­ The Brand Name You Can Trust! It was in the late seventies, early eighties when I first heard the concept-turned-catch-phrase: Branding. I hated it immediately. So simple. So descriptive. So perfect. That word would go far in its new form. Today it’s part of the language, the lingo, the vernacular, the common tongue. Ask your waiter. He can tell you what Branding means.

I can’t let a Cozy Frog (Branding!) article get away without explaining the meaning of my subject. Here’s a definition of Branding taken from Wikipedia:

In marketing, a brand is the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service. A brand typically includes a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images or symbols. It also encompasses the set of expectations associated with a product or service, which typically arise in the minds of people. Such people include employees of the brand owner, people involved with distribution, sale or supply of the product or service, and ultimately, consumers.

Got that? Want it Titmowse style?

Branding is when you use your company name or product name over and over and over and over. Plaster it everywhere. Put it on all your websites. Put it in your sig file. Use it in your email signature. Slap it on business cards. Get that fancy logo and put it to good use. Get a P.O. box registered with your Brand. Have your Brand trademarked. Find some image or name or both that signifies what your are and what you do and do work it like it’s hot!

“Why should I start Branding, Titmowse? I’m just a newbie webmaster. I don’t sell content or software or own a hosting company or paysite. What do I have to Brand?”

How about yourself? You’re a new adult webmaster with lots of drive and a thousand directions before you. You can take any road you want. You might end up as the greatest porn site designer in all of smutland. Then again, you might become the guru of marketing consultants. You don’t know what you will be but you know what you are already: Yourself. Sell yourself. Start Branding you.

Use your real name. Think up a cool nickname. Invent an amazing company name. Start thinking in future terms. Someday, you might be mailing fat checks to affiliate webmasters. What is the Company name that you would like to appear on those fat paychecks? What is a Brand Name that will endure during your metamorphosis from newbie to mogul? Will you want to keep that Brand Name after you’ve ‘made it’?

Cozy Frog (Branding!) is a Brand Name. We’ve worked hard to make sure that when adult webmasters read or hear the word Cozy, they think of us. They know that the Cozy name means friendly, helpful, dependable and thorough. They know that a Cozy website like Cozy Academy or Cozy Toons will be easy to navigate. A Cozy site will look incredible and will contain solid content. Webmasters know this because of the other necessary components of proper Branding: Consistency and Longevity. Branding doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years to grow a Brand. Over the last five years, Cozy has consistently given the adult Internet a quality product.

Branding is not new but the term became part of the jargon because marketing schools and advertising agencies repeated it over and over and over. They applied the concept of Branding to the word Branding.

As an adult webmaster, you need Branding. You need to repeat your nickname, company name or logo over and over and over until it sinks into the collective consciousness of your peers and potential customers. You need to associate your Brand with everything you do as an adult webmaster. You can pay someone to do it for you or you can do it yourself. Whatever you do, go on and Get Branded!