A firm with a good overall reputation owns a valuable asset - goodwill: brand names, corporate logos, and customer loyalty. The primary purpose of brands and brand names is to provide to the user a symbolic meaning which assists the user in the recognition and decision-making process. The model of reputation building provides an insightful framework in which to cast brand extension decision making. The model identifies a brand's reputation and credibility as the starting point of the extension process. But the reputation of the core brand is not fully carried to the new product extension. What does appear to be transferable to the brand extension from the core brand reputation are 2 critical items - the quality of the core brand and the fit between the technologies of producing the core brand and the technologies of producing the brand extension. The power of reputation for a brand is strongest when the competitive products all look alike or cannot be seen. A successful new product should always offer users a significant point of difference. This point must deliver what it promises.