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Brian Scudamore launched 1-800-GOT-JUNK? with $700 and a used truck in 1989, when he was 18 years old. Today, his Vancouver-based garbage removal service has over 300 locations across Canada, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

A master at not only establishing a brand, but achieving maximum visibility, Brian's marketing efforts have become the gold standard in his industry, spurring countless copycat attempts. Nonetheless, it is GOT-JUNK? that continues to claim the spotlight. The company has been profiled in The Globe and Mail, Fortune Magazine, CNN, Business Week, and The Wall Street Journal.

In the conversation below, Brian discussed the branding of GOT-JUNK? and the steps others can take if they want to achieve similar results.

Greg Robinson from Calgary writes: Hello: I know myself and others in my neighbourhood are irritated by your constant use of our community as your a billboard for your business. I can tell you this because the lawn and fence signs which you put up normally (thankfully) disappear within a very short time. Tell me, if you can, what is the point of continuing with an advertising model which obviously both annoys consumers and creates a continuing unsightliness and waste in our communities? Thank you in advance.

Brian Scudamore writes: Our company is committed to keeping communities clean and while we put out lawn signs, we also make a conscious effort to collect the signs within days of placing them. A key part of growing our business to an international level involves building a recognizable brand. In terms of branding we believe in The Rule of 27, meaning that it will take our customers 27 separate impressions to recognize and remember 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. On the branding front we participate in all sorts of marketing initiatives that range from sponsoring little league teams to taking part in riverside cleanups like we have been in Calgary this week.

Ex-banker from St. John's Canada writes: I used 1800-got-junk last week to take away some old water heaters etc. Only cost me $139 and they showed up on time after giving me 30min notice they were on their way. Took 10min and then they were out of my hair. If only the phone and cable companies were as efficient.

Brian Scudamore writes: I think for any emerging company your greatest asset is your people -- in fact the first thing you see when you visit our head office in Vancouver is a massive quote at reception that reads, 'It's All About People' — something we live by at all levels. Our Frontline staff are the first and lasting impression we make on our customers. At 1-800-GOT-JUNK? we believe in hiring the right people and treating them right. And as a result, everyone in our organization is friendly, professional and passionate about what they do. Whether it's someone you talk to on the phone or the person that hauls junk from your home what gets passed on to the customer is the feeling that you are working with a company that cares. That is the wonderful bi-product of good people.

Derek Little from Toronto writes: Brian, congratulations for your success. How much of an impact did E-Myth have on it?

Brian Scudamore writes: I'm a huge fan of Michael Gerber and his book the E-Myth. If there's a book that has had the single greatest impact on my business, this would be it. I am a huge believer in the concept that "people don't fail systems do". Learning how to systematize your business is one of the concepts Michael reinforces and this is something that really helped me get my business to the next level. I can honestly say that if I hadn't read the E-Myth, our business wouldn't be half of what it is today. Check out this link www.e-myth.com/success/ Michael has featured 1-800-GOT-JUNK? on his site. It talks much more about how I believe the E-Myth should be used.

Shingi Kanhukamwe from Toronto writes: Hello Brian, What was your single most successful initiative in marketing the brand during the early years of the company's existence when resources were scant? Similarly, what was he least rewarding marketing exercise you ever undertook?

Brian Scudamore writes: I would say one of the most rewarding things we did in the early stages of our company is to learn the value of positive press. Our company has an in house public relations team that has worked to get us exposure on some of the most high profile media outlets including Oprah! PR is an area where we have seen a fantastic return on investment. If I had to come up with the least rewarding marketing practice — it's to do with the execution. For example when we've done direct mail once instead of repeatedly in an area, the results have fallen short. There is no magic bullet in branding. It is an ongoing process that involves targeting your customers regularly and with a sense of timeliness and fun.

Jay Storme from Toronto writes: At what point in time did you realize you had a distinct 'brand' that you could control and grow? And what did you do to control and grow it. Are there differences between what your employees think of your brand vs. what your customers think?

Brian Scudamore writes: I actually think as a brand our employees and customers are very aligned. An important part of managing and controlling your brand first relies on internal communication. I don't think you can effectively communicate with your customers until everyone within your organization has a crystal clear idea of what your company is about. I've created a mission statement that outlines to everyone within 1-800-GOT-JUNK? what our company looks, feels, and acts like and what we are going to achieve in the future. We call this the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Painted Picture. Everyone here talks about this in the present tense and reads it often. Our Painted Picture outlines exactly who we are, what we believe and how we think and act towards each other and our customers. Without this kind of internal communication I don't think we could have controlled and developed the brand to the point we have today.

Paul Clissold from Kelowna writes: As your company grew quickly did you create the systems and procedures yourself or did you bring on an expert to help you grow smoothly?

Brian Scudamore writes: We have learned as we have grown and some of our systems and procedures were a result of this learning curve. However, I truly believe on the philosophy "why try to spend the time figuring something out that someone else has already done and perfected". Each member of our leadership team, including myself, has a mentor that has shown us how to create efficient systems to ensure our quick growth. These mentors have provided us with information on specific areas that we are needing to work on and share with us what worked and did not work when they were going through the process.

An example is that our COO has a mentor from Starbucks who has mentored him on creating systems for rapid growth. We also seek out experts to bring on our Board of Advisors that are experts in specific fields. For example, when we are focusing on increasing brand awareness, we will bring on a Board member who has successful background experience in branding.

Bernard Otu writes: Think ford. Think Chevrolet. Very strong brands and yet on the decline. Is capturing mindshare enough? Especially in this information landscape, isn't the 'mind space' simply overcrowded. How does 1-800-GOT-JUNK remain relevant today?

Brian Scudamore writes: My thoughts on maintaining relevance on our brand are twofold. I think a company needs to stay consistent with its messaging. Know who you are and what you are about. If you are a strong and reliable brand, that is what customers associate you with. It is confusing if a company suddenly tries to re-brand itself. The second part of relevance is being on the pulse of societal changes - whether they are environmental or technological, you still want to be on top of the things that impact your customers and look for ways to integrate that into your company without altering what you stand for as a brand.

John Koehler from Montreal writes: One of goals of the company was to reach 1 billion in sales - are you on target to reach that number?

Brian Scudamore writes: We are exactly on track to hit the goal of $1 billion in system-wide sales in 2012. Right now, this involves a lot of growth in international markets so that is where we are putting a lot of our focus. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is now in four countries including Canada, the US, Australia and the U. K. This year we are on track to achieve $158 million in sales and feel this momentum will take us to the billion dollar level in 2012.

Lisa Kennedy from Canada writes: Hi Brian, Out of all the marketing efforts you use to make at least one of your 27 impressions on consumers, what, in your opinion, is the most effective one? Which one gives you the biggest bang for your buck?

Brian Scudamore writes: I touched on this a bit in Shingi's question, but one of the most effective things we have done as a brand is invest in a strong in-house public relations team. This group works closely with the media to proactively pitch us for stories that range from business profiles to how-to segments on cleaning out your garage. We have become experts in getting rid of junk, and this third party credibility through the media has really given us our biggest bang for our buck.

Sue W. from Canada writes: Hi, I've used your service twice and found your employees very efficient and courteous, and the cost quite reasonable. You've done a great job with the branding with your trucks being immediately recognizable by their colors and logo. Have you ever thought of expanding and growing your business and maybe selling your service to municipalities like the City of Toronto? They need some serious help in coming up with a new business model.

Brian Scudamore writes: Hi Sue. Thanks for the feedback. The team that services Toronto is truly AMAZING! They are some of the best in the system. The Province of Ontario continues to show a lot of opportunity for our business. We've recently begun our expansion into some of the outlying areas of the GTA like Chatham. But as you point out, there is a lot more room to grow. I think that is what makes this business so exciting. Everyone has junk and whether you are in a big city like Toronto or a smaller community like Kamloops there is a real need for a professional, customer-focused service like ours.

Daniel Franky from Toronto writes: How do you recommend allocating a budget for small business to build there brand. What method or approach worked best for you?

Brian Scudamore writes: This is a great question and one that I get asked by a lot of small business owners. I think in terms of what percentage of your projected revenue you want to allocate towards marketing, 10 percent is a good clean number. At 1-800-GOT-JUNK? we work on a system of focus. So this means we target specific regions by customer demographic and invest in multiple marketing tactics in each region. Things like regular direct mail and strategic truck parking have proven to be really effective for building our brand.

Noel Hulsman, Globeandmail.com: Brian, thank you very much for your time today. We really appreciate your insights and advice. Cheers.