Is anyone else creeped out by the talk of marketing executives when they say they want a product or service to appeal to a certain demographic? "We want kids to see how cool this drink is." This absolutely smacks of manufactured desire. The purpose is to introduce another thing that people will want despite having existed quite capably without it for however long. Let's look at how branding works on us and how badly we fall for it.
I have to start with the corporation responsible for the best branding in the world; Apple. I say it is the best because it is nearly seamless. Apple doesn't need to tell you that their products are hip, cool and creative because all of your friends tell you for them. I consider myself familiar with Apple, despite currently only owning one product of theirs (an iPhone). When I was growing up, my first 2 computers were Apples, so I was privy to the whole buzz about how they were THE brand of computer for anyone interested in graphics. This wasn't just idle gossip back then, it was really true. Apple had the first mainstream operating system capable of 256 colors, then full color graphics. Somewhere along the line, everything evened out when Microsoft vaulted into the market with Windows and the comparative graphic design capabilities of the two operating systems became indistinguishable. That didn't prevent Apple's Macintosh from retaining the mystique of a niche product for creative types. Even when the array of "creative" software available for Windows vastly overshadowed that available to a Mac, the myth persisted.
Apple cashed in on that myth by introducing products and marketing that fed off the creative mystique. As a consumer who typically knows exactly what he wants, I don't see myself purchasing anything from them (excepting of course my iPhone, which is exactly what I want). Conversely, a consumer with only a cursory overview of what a Mac offers against a PC, or what an iPod offers against a Walkman MP3 will likely fall into the trap of walking the path that the cool kids all did. That is the power of branding! Consumers will feel a comforting familiarity with a product, even without having ever interacted with it before, even if it is inferior and more expensive.
I'm not immune to the branding game though. I've made purchasing decisions based on a brand that I've regretted. One company that typically pleases, but also often disappoints is Sony. Here we have a company that makes consumer-friendly products with the air of sophistication and style, but the truth is that Sony's competence across all of their product lines reads like a punch card. They use their excellence in one field to establish respectability in another field. I can tell you that Sony CRT televisions and audio devices are excellent. Their digital cameras, LCD monitors and computers are suspect. Regardless, Sony product launches are generally successful (ignore: PS3) because people see their name and trust it.
There should naturally be a big huge caution flag waving around all brand-related decision making. Sometimes you need to read the fine print. Let's take IMAX as the best example. When you think of IMAX, you typically think of huge movie projection screens that encircle your entire scope of vision, allowing you to watch movies in complete immersion. That's a shame because recently IMAX has been lending its brand name to a breed of movie theater with a screen no different than that of a modern movie house. The only thing setting it apart, in fact, is an enhanced audio system. Still, consumers are lead to believe that this is the IMAX that they heard about from their friends and they put forth a few extra dollars for their tickets. IMAX can get away with this because its not selling IMAX, it's the IMAX Experience. Buyer beware.
Sometimes brands can go bad, so the company associated with them has to jettison their dead cargo before it can sink them. Consumers have to be aware of rebranding, As the internet boomed, it was fueled by equal parts ambition and ignorance. One company filled with ambition and eager to feed off of the massive tide of ignorance was the Gator Corporation. For anyone geeky enough to know about them, their name was synonymous with spyware. This company created software that managed to install itself on millions of computers and proceeded to harass users with unending amounts of advertisements. As you could guess, the Gator Corporation received a lot of bad publicity and was eventually ordered to change its methods. This wasn't before they managed to duck out of the public eye by magically renaming their company to Claria. While word of mouth could prevent a large number of people from falling into a trap simply by avoiding its name, the change of identity allowed the company to squeak out a new last gasps before they were brought down by the courts.
The purpose of this entry is to inspire people to think about the decisions they make that are based on the familiarity they have with a brand. Be realistic about what a brand is; a personality given to an underlying product or service - a sugar coating to help you swallow it easier. Now just imagine if Jelly Belly changed the color of their licorice jelly beans to blue. Wouldn't you still spit them out? (And if you actually eat the black ones... ew!)
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