The Importance Of A Brand

RIM’s failure to develop the Blackberry brand played a role in the fall of the phone. 

The Blackberry phones have not been able to compete with the Android and Apple phones. With many analysts writing about the demise of RIM and it’s slow death. While there are technical issues that also affected the company and its phone. Few have focused on the issue of branding in the whole scenario, but as a marketer, I couldn’t resist. 

Blackberry’s Brand

Blackberry’s brand grew out of it’s functionality. Many business people began using the phones because of their capabilities. It’s ‘brand’ of the ‘businessman’s phone’ grew organically through lifestyle association. RIM however never focused on developing the brand but rather let it grow on it’s own. Being the only phone with it’s capabilities, it stood out. 

Enter Google and Apple

When the iphone and Android phones entered the market with the same smart phone capability, it created brand parity. Brand parity is when the customer perceives no major difference between competing products. How companies deal with this is by pushing and focusing on their brand. As customers would move beyond purchasing the product and begin purchasing the brand. So when Apple and Google brought their brands into the game, things began to look bad for Blackberry. Relegating them to a ‘metoo’ product. 

Another interesting benefit of brands is their ability to create loyal customers. Without Blackberry constantly working on their brand, their customer loyalty fell. With a large number of customers switching to Apple and Android. 

RIM took too long to address this issue and they are now paying for it. They have been effectively knocked out of the market and needed to make some tough strategic decisions. Looking at RIM’s new strategy (focusing on Enterprise business) I think they can succeed. I just hope they take their brand more seriously this time.

Why I like Twitter

Recently I’ve started using my Twitter account (@nBengo) much more and I must say, I like it. What I like most about it is its restriction to only 140 characters per tweet. Keeping all your tweets under 140, forces you to really think about what you want to say and how best to explain it. Every tweet can be a mini exercise in English language and simple language. Sentence construction, punctuation, and choice of words are just some of the elements to look at when crafting my tweet.
Even though I’m some way off from having excellent writing, I think the little daily practices are helping me improve. Now if you would excuse me, I have to write a tweet for this blog post. 

Form and Function

In the design world, there needs to be a marriage between form and
function.  Great designers have stated that good design form is born
out of good function but not vice versa. Hence we should use function
as the starting point then merge it with form.


I believe design without function is art. It is beautiful and needed
sometimes, but one must recognize it as art and treat it as such.


Building on my last post, we see that not all ads stay true to this
relationship of form and function. There are some impressive
innovative ads out there that are pleasing to the eye but are they all
effective? They ticked the form box, but have they ticked the function
box? Sometimes, no.
So when designing ads for your products be sure to keep in mind that
without function, form is just art and art doesn't sell products.


The solution? Strategy and Tactics. Marketing strategy refers to where
you are taking your brand and marketing tactics, to how your getting
it there. Every brand should have a clearly defined strategy and
tactics. Aligning your ad directly to both, would ensure the
functionality of the ad.

Effective Ads

I've been thinking recently about which ads are effective in
getting me interested in a product or service. Finding out which ads are effective can tell us a bit about ourselves. For instance, I've
realized, there are two types of ads that are effective with me.


Firstly are ads that go for all out beauty and design in the ad and/or
product. A perfect example is this Mercedes Benz ad.

Secondly is if it goes into detail with why the product works. Though
this is not an ad per say it did get me to actually purchase the
product.

These type of ads are effective in bringing me to that “interest” or
“desire” phase about the product. I do enjoy other types of ads, but
the interest usually stays with the ad. I think these are effective because
of my interest in design as well as the curious analyzer in me.

What type of ads actually make you want the product/service?

Design and Context

Fiat 500 (1969)

 I recently saw the Italian Job( the old version, 1969) and in it there
were a number of Fiat 500's. I've never been a fan of vintage cars,
but seeing the old 500's in their home setting really lead me to
appreciate their design.
It got me thinking about design and context
and I realized that design is best appreciated in it's original
context. Great design then, is design that can be applied in many
different contexts yet still be appreciated.

Google Us

In recent times, Google has become the ‘go to’ source for nearly all
types of information. People  hardly make a decision now without
consulting their trusty search companion, especially when making
purchases. Filled with all sorts of third party information, customers
are now able to study the company, brand, and product, at home before
purchasing. Not only are they learning about your company and product,
but they are forming opinions on what your brand really is.


Brand Perception
One of the most important aspects of a brand is perception. The 4 P's
of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion) are all designed
to ensure the market perceives your brand how you intended. However,
with the growth and influence of Google, those 4 P's are not the only
thing influencing the market's perception of your brand. What's also
worrisome is you don't have control over those other factors.


We live in an age where information is a commodity and freely
available. There are loads of information online about your company,
brand, and product. However the majority of it was not created by you.
News reports, blog articles, customer forums, and third party
companies are all talking about your brand and product. Even customer
remixes of your brand flagship (logo) are out there(see Pepsi post).
What appeals to the customer is transparency and unbiased information
and this content and information is influencing how your customer
perceives your brand. Which, in essence, is your true brand, not what
you say it is.


 This may be scary for some, as your company didn't create the
content, and thus can't manage it. It however does not mean you can't
influence it.


The solution?


Become your brand
A well designed marketing strategy and brand devised in the board room
is great. Proper  implementation and roll out is also needed. However,
in the new online world this is not enough. Companies must now become
their brand. Everything about the company needs to reflect the brand
and its values. From hiring practices, business practices, production
practices, and management, everything about the company and the brand
must be the same throughout. Some other steps that you can take to
ensure positive brand perception:

• Interact with people online who discuss your brand and become a member of that community

• Hire employees that are part of your target market. That way you can stay up to date with how your brand is being perceived

• Play an active role in ensuring that everything that reaches Google accurately portrays your brand

That way when people ask, who are you, you can  say 'Google us', and
not be worried about brand perception

Why I run - via Asics

We marketers usually talk about truly connecting with your customers through your advertising. However, in all honesty, though I've liked ads before, I have never felt any ad was speaking specifically to me. Though recently I saw an ad from asics and for the first time I felt that elusive connection. It is an amazing ad and spoke directly to the runner in me. (see video below)

Besides the obvious message in the ad, I like that they did not explicitly push their product. Instead they highlighted the message/connection (motivation for running) and tastefully placed their product.  I once saw a statement from asics that they were "for runners by runners". With ads like this, I believe it.


Have you ever felt like an ad was speaking directly to you?