Where in the world is your Christopher Casablanca?

When you think about the wonderful products we offer, and at values perhaps stronger than ever, it boggles my mind that our target consumer, the female shopper, is not head-over-heels in love with us.

I believe she really wants to be. I think she is more than simply infatuated with our products. But studies keep pointing to certain obstacles, the largest one perhaps an image problem: Although comfortable as a wife, mother, employee or employer, she 抯 far less secure as a home decorator.

While she knows who she is, she often doubts her ability to pull together a room that captures and reflects her individuality. And human nature being what it is, the byproduct of uncertainty is often immobility.

So, my question is this: What are we as an industry doing to help her? To our credit, we present abundant (maybe overwhelming?) choices. We offer tremendous values and no shortage of outlets to buy our products.

But I don believe we doing nearly enough to help her make intelligent, confident choices.

She probably can name less than six or seven brands of furniture, yet there 抯 a myriad of manufacturers and many more suppliers of unbranded goods. If imports continue to rise, her choices may become even more diverse, difficult and potentially stressful. How does she decide?

My best guess is that resources and retailers are going to place much more emphasis on brand. According to studies by Roper Starch Worldwide, this could be a good thing. Roper says brand loyalists are the ultimate consumers. They have higher median household incomes, tend to be better educated and are married and in two-career households. And more than 60% tend to recommend brands they favor to friends.

I think we have a perfect opportunity to turn a negative ?low brand awareness ?into an overwhelming positive. Sensing this, suppliers have joined forces with such powerhouse personalities as Kathy Ireland, Jessica McClintock, Alexander Julian, Christopher Lowell, Jaclyn Smith, Bob Timberlake and many more.

But a brand without a strong, clearly perceived message is just a name. The beauty of effective branding is that the message is as powerful as the messenger.

As an example, take a look at how El Dorado, one of Florida most successful retailers, helps customers understand its store brands. When the retailer wanted to make a splash with contemporary, it created Carlo Perazzi. I can tell by looking at the furniture that bears his name that Carlo is hip, upscale and contemporary. Recently, to help customers understand that El Dorado offers looks from around the world, they created Christopher Casablanca.

The story is that Christopher grew up on an island and became a world traveler, and the message is that furniture sold in the store Christopher Casablanca area is similar to what he saw during his expeditions.

Forget Waldo. Where and who is your Christopher Casablanca?