So how do we break those barriers? It's quite simple really, in case of Gold Link. His solution was as follows for those 2 examples above.

First, find a free product that you believe in. Offer it from your site as a thank you for signing up to your mailing list. In The Gold Link's case it's a free cellphone. Now he can post an ad in any freebie listing place to effect that Gold Link is giving away free cellphones. Ton's of free ad space in all ezines with free stuff as a topic. Plus it grows his mailing list.

Second, get involved with a marketing package you can discuss in marketing ezines and forums. In Gold Links case he signed up for Startblaze, nomorehits, and ezytraffic and several more. I then wrote a special Traffic Magic report about how to automate credit building process in these programs. He gives report away free through an autoresponder trafficmagic@tgoldlink.com. This report was so effective and it intrigued so many marketers that they had to go check him out some bought gold. It allowed him to expand his exposure into internet marketing crowd. It allows him to submit his ads to internet marketing ezine community.

Be creative and you can go "on and on" about "how to get into other target markets," but those examples should help point way for some of you who are hoping to expand their market.

So, back to branding. In an age in which consumer has, through decades of advertising industry activity, developed a challengingly high level of commercial, visual and iconographic literacy, and in which, as a consequence, most prosaic product's message has to be devised with excruciating sophistication in order to be heeded, it's no surprise that our youngsters have been quietly dragged along in brainwashing wake. A two-year-old will not be insensible to message of ubiquitous and eloquent golden arches, even when they spy that icon from a fast-moving vehicle. The world-famous symbol, along with reportedly second-most-famous-face-in-the-world (after Santa Claus) speak volumes to youngest of our number, and message is McDonald's. Now more than ever, children of household dictate what products go into shopping cart every week and what treats might befall them between shopping trips.

Yep. We're dealing with an up-and-coming generation of icon readers blessed, or cursed, with a level of commercial literacy like we've never seen before. These kindergarteners will demand even more sophisticated commercial communications than we've been familiar with to date. Without their help we'll find difficulty in developing commercial communications to meet their expectations, harness their attention and retain their loyalty.

And here's thing. It's vital to remember underlying value of a powerful icon: it can engender outstanding loyalty. This loyalty, if taken good care of, can thrive for decades and become link between a product and its dramatically changing audience. Even though a band like Boyzone no longer exists, eBay, Yahoo! and other online auction sites still trade Boyzone merchandising. Strange? You only have to consider us grownups' relationships with ABBA, Beatles or Elvis Presley to realise obvious fact that loyalty those figures earnt from us during our tender years lives on in our senses of nostalgia, self-identity, force of habit … all corners of our memory and mentality that define our self-identities.

Let's not forget lessons our own personal experiences have taught us. And here's my best advice on how to learn from them: keep a close eyes on kids. Play with them, observe them, notice their tolerances, values and motivations. Get in tune with them. You might just discover secret behind, not only true icon development, but behind development of loyalty-creating icons.