Brand: Follow-ups'

It's been awhile since I have posted, and therefore its an excellent time to take a review of what has been going on in the world of Brands...so let's take a quick look:

The I-Pad on top with the Kindle below

Amazon, to compete with the Nook & Sony's reader, has decided to alter its distribution strategy to include retail distribution. It turns out that consumers as part of their purchase behavior need to 'touch, feel and experience' the kindle before they reach a decision. This is a drastic change for the brand whose positioning has always been that of a successful online retailer, so by selling the kindle through alternate means it tarnishes the positioning by stating that the online channel is just not enough! Is it because of what the consumer wants? or is it an attempt to establish equal footing to be able to compete more effectively? All in all it seems that Amazon have begun to doubt their own capabilities.

But what about e-reader substitutes? While the big reader brands compete among themselves (a rather myopic view), an increasing number of  I-Pad 'killers' are being launched in the market, which boast the ability to read e-books and so much more...so why restrict yourself with an e-reader only? Apparently according to Amazon's ad it's cheaper and there's no glare...... ok.... I have nothing more to say...based on functionality only now that's a tough sell.

An i-Pad look alike?

The Samsung Galaxy pad is to be one such tablet, although it may need a more memorable positioning as most new tablets brag of being able to equalize if not more with the i-Pad. So besides originality in positioning, even its design and structure of the tablet and phone look quite similar to the i-Pad/Phone range. Plus by comparing yourself to Apple, you have to question what are the objectives of Samsung..are they better on functionality? Do they want to be more popular? or have the same sales/loyalty? click here to see the ad, while more originality would be nice, on the bright side the Galaxy does have a phone!!






Speaking of brand originality, the new Old Spice commercial has taken originality to the extreme. The new ad starring NFL star Ray Lewis leaves you wondering...what's going on??? While the previous advertisements with Isiah Mustafa had brand promise, clear message/positioning and a targeted audience, the new one leaves you wondering what exactly are Old Spice trying to say? So while its great to be original and think out of the box, sometimes its not good to stray too far.....Abe Sauer covers it beautifully in the article Old Spice: We're wild and craaaaazy guys



Brand dilution is always a risk in every venture undertaken by an organization, and Xerox might be facing that with its latest ad campaign where it combines a host of various other companies/brands and how Xerox is of benefit to them...the risk is that with all the other brands (Target, P&G, NY Mets), Xerox itself might get lost in all the clutter. It also turns out that they are moving away from a functional perspective (low cost printing solutions) to a value based one in which they provide various printing solutions.... to organizations...which I gather to be their primary consumer base.



On a final note, I came across a new viral campaign by Tipp-ex (the brand not the product), which heralds a new era for interactive social media, the ad which involves a hunter and a bear (be sure to choose an option towards the end), provides the viewer free reign  in determining the interaction of the main characters; quite an engaging endeavor (!!), but while having fun there's always a chance people will remember the ad and not the brand.