Trump Neat? Or on the Rocks?

Like him or not, Donald Trump has built the world’s most powerful brand in real estate.

But how are his other products—from bottled water to discount travel services to Trump University—actually performing? And do they pose a threat to the value of his real estate empire’s brand over time?

The reason I ask: I saw Trump Vodka at a bar for the first time last weekend. (OK, fine, I don’t get out much.) But customers were laughing at—not lapping up—the product.

For that matter, I don’t think that specialty drinks like “The Skinny Bitch” (Diet Coke and Trump) represent the brand voice of “the world’s finest super premium vodka.” 

Do different rules apply to Trump? Has he cleverly created a “brand of bravado” that atypically gets stronger with every new product, no matter how it performs?

Or is he unwittingly diluting the most valuable asset he owns—his name?

Update on Mon, October 15, 2007 at 06:55AM by Frank J. Oswald

The Trump real estate brand is stronger than ever, according to the Times.

Amid vocal protests, Trump’s SoHo luxury condo already has 3,200 purchase applications for its 400 units—and it’s not even scheduled to open until 2009.

Per a story in the Times magazine: [The] bottom line is that the word “Trump” adds to the bottom line. “Trump’s name brings the highest premium,” says Alex Sapir, president of the Sapir Organization. “I don’t think there’s any other household real estate name.”