When I was a kid growing up in Dublin we always sat on the top deck of the bus on a Saturday evening coming home from a day in the city. As we passed Christchurch Cathedral we pressed our noses to the window and looked out at the long queue which snaked half way down Werburgh Street. The crowd didn’t just gather on Saturday either. They lined up every night at Leo Burdocks take away fish and chip shop.

A Dublin institution which first opened its doors in 1913, Burdocks has survived wars, uprising, recessions and outlived the Celtic Tiger. Celebrities from U2 to Liam Neeson have lined up to sample the secret batter recipe from the most lauded chipper in Ireland.

I’m sure Leo knew he had a great product when he started out all those years ago. The best.
He just had to figure out a way to let his customers know that too. So in the absence of billboards, TV, AdSense, Google or Groupon he just set about being the best.

He didn’t have to be the best to the well heeled barristers who could afford to head out from their Georgian homes in Fitzwilliam Square to dine at the Gresham Hotel. He just needed to work at understanding what ’best’ was to the aul fella who would buy a battered cod every Saturday night on the way back from the pub. Or what would make the young housewife dig deep into her purse on a Thursday pay day for a little treat for the family.

With that understanding Burdock could not only become the best, he could also communicate why he was the best to the people who mattered.

That same opportunity is open to every single brand. And you.

Image by Conor Larkin.