I have a great friend with whom I visit the gym. A few days ago she gifted me a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Organic Liquid Soap. Holy smokes but that is luxury! Dr. Bronner’s, which many people use as a soap for camping because of its versatility for cleaning all your parts and your dishes and your clothes, is my very, very favorite soap. I’ve purchased bottles before, but when I do I often covet it for way too long, until the spout is thickly clogged and evaporation turns the liquid into more of a gel. I just can’t bear to waste it on everyday cleaning.

Dr. Bronner’s is Pure Castille Soap, and the funny thing is that other people make pure castille soap, even with the delicious little peppermint tingle. In fact, Trader Joe’s grocery store, which is my favorite place to shop, offers their own brand for perhaps half the price. And I buy the Trader Joe’s version. And I bet if I took an empty Dr. Bronner’s bottle and put Trader Joe’s soap into it, I wouldn’t know the difference.

But the difference is branding. Although I may be the only true Dr. Bronner’s connoisseur, I feel absolutely indulgent when I get the real thing. It goes the same for things like Godiva chocolate and Opi nail polish and iPods and HP printers. Sure, one can choose less-expensive alternatives to each of those products, but eating CVS-brand chocolates just doesn’t sound as luxurious.

With some of my marketing efforts, I hope to become an office-hold name in certain circles. I want to be the copywriter of choice for my 1886 contacts. Sure, they can get a no-name copywriter off of craigslist, and the writer will probably do the job just fine. But I’m hoping that I develop a reputation of being the copywriter that my target audience seeks. And next Christmas, when a communications manager gets an Avenue Z Writing Solutions Gift Card, she’ll know she’s gotten the best.

I guess this is my New Year’s resolution. Happy New Year’s to my friends in blogworld.