Re: Branding?

From: Larry Raubach <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Tue 21 Mar 2000 10:06:48 EST

It would seem that this branding debate has a life of
its own.

KIM BROOKS WROTE:
> HUGE difference here in recognition and branding.

To that I say phoey! When will the brand purists stop
belittling awareness and recognition? There is not a
HUGE difference between recognition and branding, they
are in fact inter-related. A strong brand CANNOT exist
without recognition and awareness. It is awareness and
recognition that DRIVE brand equity.

KIM CONTINUES BY SAYING:
> Back to the original questions, I would describe eBay
> as low-branded or no-brand, because if you were to ask
> a big focus group, "What do you know about eBay?", they
> would probably say:
> "I bought a book there and it was great"
> "I tried to buy a baseball card and I got screwed"
> "I read that they get phony bids"
> "You can save a lot of money"
> "They have everything there you could ever want"
> "It's mostly crap, like a big garage sale"
> "I'm not sure what they sell"
> "They have Beanie Babies I can't find anywhere else"

C'mon Kim, what meatheads were in your focus group?
Some people may have been "screwed" sure, but how many
people have bought a lemon Ford? Does that mean all
Fords are lemons? Don't answer that :) If you were to
ask a focus group "what do you know about EBay,
chances are many would simply say, "they are the
biggest online auction site", plain and simple.

Further:

> Get it? There is no consistent message that you can
> name. Because they don't articulate a message in their
> ads or on the site, so the message is defined by the
> users. And user experiences have varied widely.
> Products vary widely. The service itself is
> transparent to the buyer and seller, so they wouldn't
> really say, "Their servers are so scalable" or "I
> admire their security measures."
 
Sure their products vary widely, that IS part of their
positioning - a seller of all things via public
auction - A one-stop shop for almost all your needs
and wants. Not mine but many people's needs and wants.
Most people who use EBay are savvy enough to
understand the risks involved and that there certainly
are no guarantees or return policies - to them, the
benefits outweigh the risks. Let the buyer beware!

Larry Raubach



Received on Tue Mar 21 2000 - 09:06:48 CST