Frank Perdue, who grew a small farming business into one of the nation's largest poultry processors in large part because of his marketing acumen, died today in Salisbury, Md.

In the early 70s, supermarket chicken was generally considered a commodity; one processor was the same as another. Perdue wanted customers to think about his chicken differently -- and became the first processor to advertise chicken by brand. Perdue was the pitchman himself, and was best known for the slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken."

Perdue's life reminds us that aggressive and innovative branding can make a huge difference for companies across many industries -- including those that haven't thought of it yet.