Re: Branding and marketing

From: John Gaskill <gm_at_info-central-usa.com>
Date: Mon 08 Jan 2001 11:18:57 -0500

PRESTON BEALLE WROTE:
> the branding comes along with it when the product
> arrives on time at a good price.

LARRY RAUBACH <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com> WROTE:
> Yes, in part absolutely, but effective branding starts
> long before the product arrives.

PRESTON BEALLE WROTE:
> If you hit critical mass and are breaking even after
> a period of months, then you can afford to start
> burnishing the brand name with some pretty magazine ads
> that make people feel good about who and what you are

LARRY RAUBACH <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com> WROTE:
> The key word here is "if." Frankly, in my humble
> opinion, branding on the web is MORE important than
> branding offline.

Branding is no more or less important on the web
than elsewhere. It is only more visible, partly
because the virtuality of the web eliminates
human contact and product interaction.

LARRY RAUBACH <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com> WROTE:
> Branding is all about building a
> bond that ultimately makes a purchase decision easier,
> because, to a certain degree as our friend Rob Frankel
> has said, "it's about being the only choice." Offline
> brands have more credibility. People can see them,
> feel them, try them out, easily return them etc.

Insurance can neither be seen, felt or tried out.
Yet some of the strongest brands extant built have
been in the insurance services business. The
only way to find out if your insurance is any good
is to have a claim. Only then do you learn if the
promise made is the promise kept.

Ever try to get an insurance company to refund
your premium in full after you decided the service
was unnecessary?

LARRY RAUBACH <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com> WROTE:
> Offline brands have a distinct advantage online
> because they already have a strong position (we hope)
> and that credibility and trust. New brands or would be
> brands online have a lot to prove. Despite the
> ubiquitousness of the Web now, and the rapid rise in
> online purchases, only the real innovators would likely
> make a purchase from an unheard of, untried Web
> company that tried to make a sale solely on a
> direct-over-the-web marketing piece.

Offline brands? Do you mean pre-existing products
or services with strong identities?

Any new product or service has a lot to prove in
order to reach stability and success, whether it is
is on or off line.

The customer promise has to be kept whether
selling books (Amazon), search engine services
(Yahoo), online activities (AOL), internet access
(Earthlink/Mindspring), or anything else, for an
online purveyor to build and maintain a brand.

Too often, people think a brand can be achieved
instantly through advertising. This is not so. Only
an image can be built. The brand promise is not
fulfilled until the prospect purchases the good or
service.

The future holds many excellent new and old
products and services to be found ONLY on
the internet. People will try them just as they
have in the past. There are still going to be
innovators who try new things. That you may
not know of exclusive online brands does
not make them any less real.

LARRY RAUBACH <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com> WROTE:
> It's rare that people have a specific want or need for
> a particular product at the very moment they view an
> ad or message.

The opposite is true. Coupons are based on satisfying
a current want. Classified advertising satisfies current
wants, directory advertising satisfies current wants,
many web sites satisfy current wants.

LARRY RAUBACH <larryraubach_at_hotmail.com> WROTE:
> Branding is about owning a position in
> that prospect's mind such that when that want or need
> finally arrives, they will already know who they trust
> and who they want to buy from.

If branding only applies to the future, what does
the advertiser do for the present? Waiting for
the "final arrival" of a want or need sounds
like much of the what was being peddled by
the late dot bombs.

Yes, a good discussion is stimulating Larry!

Another $ 0.02 worth.

Regards all,

John Gaskill
gm_at_info-central-usa.com





Received on Mon Jan 08 2001 - 10:18:57 CST