Building a brand: company's products known, not its name.(Tasco Sales Inc)

Even if a company has sold products nationally for years, it doesn't mean it has a brand name.

That's the problem in a nutshell for Tasco Sales Inc. The Miramar-based optics distributor has remained largely anonymous to the general public since it was founded in 1954 as a family owned hardware and fishing tackle wholesaler.

But after decades of selling primarily to dealers behind the scenes, Tasco is looking through new lenses and targeting the public.

Tasco's leaders are counting on a specialized marketing and merchandising plan to elevate their moniker to the ranks of Kleenex, Coca-Cola or Band-Aid - brands that are nearly a generic name for their categories. They hope that soon consumers will think Tasco when they think of binoculars.

"It wasn't a primary goal for the company to …