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2HousePlague · 06-03-2005, 01:22 AM

...it's another thing to get it RIGHT.

There was a thread not so long ago someqone posted where the basic question was raised -- "To brand, or not to brand?" -- to which I responded -- "You're gonna build branding whether you're trying to or not."

An experience I had just a moment ago with a well-branded national company made me realize that it is not JUST a matter of being recognized -- let's call that "exposure", in the QUANTitative sense, or how MANY people know your name -- but it is also critical to manage and control WHAT those people think of when they think of your name -- in the QUALitative sense

In the online realm, the qualitative aspect of branding will determine whether your URL gets typed in or someone else's does -- think of it as a "keyword" list that resides in the heads of the people who know your brand. In this sense (and numerous others, actually), the human brain operates exactly like a search engine -- there are pre-existing associations and "rankings", which come into play when we exercise deliberate recall.

For example, my experience of a few minutes ago -- I was interested in shopping for and pricing a desktop computer. For whatever precise reasons, Fry's came into my head. I have not yet thought about the exact mehanics of its high-ranking in my cerebral query, but -- the basic elements of the "match" are obvious -- they sell desktop computers + I have physical-store experience with Fry's in the Bay Area.

So, I type in www.frys.com -- though I recognized the logo and the colors -- as you can see -- this is NOT a page that seems to be expecting a desktop computer shopper. I persisted inward, of course, and finally made my way to the retailer's actual online store -- which has a totally different domain name. But, I think I am probably an exception -- and that most other online shoppers would not have gone so far.

Frys.com -- it turns out -- is geared to the company's ISP business -- a business I, a retail customer, didn't even know existed. Now, unless Fry's is raking it in in the ISP business, I would say this is a mistake, and a failure to properly manage the QUALitative aspects of their brand. They succeeded in getting their name into my head -- getting "indexed", in other words -- but the term / brand association failed to hook the prospective customer that was nibbling on their line -- or at least failed him in the online realm. Had I been walking on Van Ness Avenue when the impulse struck, the results might have been very different.

Most of us here are, thankfully, not managing our customer acquisition branding across multiple mediums -- like Fry's and the auto makers, for example -- but, the illustration has value for us, nevertheless.

I know that I am not alone in my ambitions towards the mainstream -- I read all the press releases and see the deals that are being made by the savvy in this community. Among the more interesting types of deals, are those that seize upon alternative channels for either customer acquisition or product delivery...

One need only count the number of threads and posts with "2257" or ".XXX" in them to know that we are operating in a commercial and political context that is inimical to our industry. Our existing "channels" are now patrolled by Police Men. We can assume that there will also be Police Men -- very soon, if not already -- standing guard wherever else in the global Communications Macrocosm we try to sell our wares.

I would so hate to see any of us miss an important opportunity because they had failed to consider the FULL complexity of shifting from one medium to the next.

From this point forward, and in ALL that we do, we must assume that Big Brother is a party to the dialogue between our customers and ourselves. I think too many of us imagine a greater privacy than actually exists -- simply because our customers are usually sitting alone in dark rooms when they press "BUY".

For a long time -- since forever, actually -- we have relied on the fact that "sex sells" -- we've had a free ride, so to speak -- insofar as all our marketing has simply been about achieving as much exposure (QUANTITATIVE) as possible.

But, the times -- they are a-changing, my friends -- and it's not necessarily all bad, or even bad at ALL -- if -- IF we learn quickly enough the fine art of saying one thing, while meaning another.

In successful warfare, there is a time to stand straight-up and resist -- but there is also a time for patience and camouflage --

j-

06-03-2005, 01:22 AM
2HousePlague CURATOR Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: the attic Posts: 14,572	It's one thing to VALUE branding... ...it's another thing to get it RIGHT. There was a thread not so long ago someqone posted where the basic question was raised -- "To brand, or not to brand?" -- to which I responded -- "You're gonna build branding whether you're trying to or not." An experience I had just a moment ago with a well-branded national company made me realize that it is not JUST a matter of being recognized -- let's call that "exposure", in the QUANTitative sense, or how MANY people know your name -- but it is also critical to manage and control WHAT those people think of *when* they think of your name -- in the QUALitative sense In the online realm, the qualitative aspect of branding will determine whether your URL gets typed in or someone else's does -- think of it as a "keyword" list that resides in the heads of the people who know your brand. In this sense (and numerous others, actually), the human brain operates exactly like a search engine -- there are pre-existing associations and "rankings", which come into play when we exercise deliberate recall. For example, my experience of a few minutes ago -- I was interested in shopping for and pricing a desktop computer. For whatever precise reasons, Fry's came into my head. I have not yet thought about the exact mehanics of its high-ranking in my cerebral query, but -- the basic elements of the "match" are obvious -- they sell desktop computers + I have physical-store experience with Fry's in the Bay Area. So, I type in www.frys.com -- though I recognized the logo and the colors -- as you can see -- this is NOT a page that seems to be expecting a desktop computer shopper. I persisted inward, of course, and finally made my way to the retailer's actual online store -- which has a totally different domain name. But, I think I am probably an exception -- and that most other online shoppers would not have gone so far. Frys.com -- it turns out -- is geared to the company's ISP business -- a business I, a retail customer, didn't even know existed. Now, unless Fry's is raking it in in the ISP business, I would say this is a mistake, and a failure to properly manage the QUALitative aspects of their brand. They succeeded in getting their name into my head -- getting "indexed", in other words -- but the term / brand association failed to hook the prospective customer that was nibbling on their line -- or at least failed him in the online realm. Had I been walking on Van Ness Avenue when the impulse struck, the results might have been very different. Most of us here are, thankfully, not managing our customer acquisition branding across multiple mediums -- like Fry's and the auto makers, for example -- but, the illustration has value for us, nevertheless. I know that I am not alone in my ambitions towards the mainstream -- I read all the press releases and see the deals that are being made by the savvy in this community. Among the more interesting types of deals, are those that seize upon alternative channels for either customer acquisition or product delivery... One need only count the number of threads and posts with "2257" or ".XXX" in them to know that we are operating in a commercial and political context that is inimical to our industry. Our existing "channels" are now patrolled by Police Men. We can assume that there will also be Police Men -- very soon, if not already -- standing guard wherever else in the global Communications Macrocosm we try to sell our wares. I would so hate to see *any* of us miss an important opportunity because they had failed to consider the FULL complexity of shifting from one medium to the next. From this point forward, and in ALL that we do, we must assume that Big Brother is a party to the dialogue between our customers and ourselves. I think too many of us imagine a greater privacy than actually exists -- simply because our customers are usually sitting alone in dark rooms when they press "BUY". For a long time -- since forever, actually -- we have relied on the fact that "sex sells" -- we've had a free ride, so to speak -- insofar as all our marketing has simply been about achieving as much exposure (QUANTITATIVE) as possible. But, the times -- they are a-changing, my friends -- and it's not necessarily all bad, or even bad at ALL -- if -- IF we learn quickly enough the fine art of saying one thing, while meaning another. In successful warfare, there is a time to stand straight-up and resist -- but there is also a time for patience and camouflage -- j- __________________ tada!