"After my Grand Slam Breakfast, I'll take the kids for a Happy Meal lunch."

Ask for that particular brand of morning fare at the Ritz, and you'll probably be on the receiving end of a politely quizzical look at best, a condescending stare at worst. But at Denny's, home of all-American comfort food, you'll soon be tucking into a hearty and decidedly non-continental breakfast presented, more often than not, with casual friendliness.

Next stop, a burger joint - but which one? If it's a genuine Happy Meal your kids crave, then your next destination should be the home of that very happy clown, Ronald McDonald. While virtually all fast-food outlets offer some version of a "kid's meal," not all have been as successful at verbally branding their version because the names given to their products are not indigenous to the brands' natural language landscapes. "Happy Meal" has become part of the fast-food vernacular because that name is so perfectly in keeping with the brand's distinctive personality. Hence, what you call the items on your product or service menu should be an appropriate and readily understandable outgrowth of your verbal brand strategy.

Page 3 of 5