NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> P&G/branding
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> P&G/branding
Leo Sheiner (leo_at_netcomuk.co.uk)
Mon, 31 Aug 1998 18:27:39 -0500 (CDT)
Alex Nathanson <anathanson_at_dfacades.com> writes:
<snip>
>Branding is about raising awareness, communicating value/benefits
>and establishing a trusting, ongoing relationship with potential
>buyers. It's about rising above the noise level and
>differentiating yourself from the competition. Branding is an
>investment in future relationships with customers -- it's not
>about the immediate sale. Direct response campaigns are also
>important, but you shouldn't completely discount the power of
>branding.
Well yes branding is all of that but I am weary about all this
talk of branding over the Internet because it seems to be
embedded into well worn views on branding from experience of
doing this in other media. It is as if most people who post do
not believe that the medium itself is going to have an influence
on the process of branding. I am not just speaking about the
present thread but about every time branding comes up on a
variety of discussion lists.
Most people are basically insecure in their own ability to make a
discretionary judgement. They often do not have the time or
patience let alone the ability to research which product is
better value or more appropriate to their needs. So they often
default their purchase by their perception of who is the market
leader or some perception that one product rather than another
identifies with their lifestyle/values. (Who first said that
people are like sheep <g>).
Given this dynamic, it has primarily been Dollars that establish
that perception. Of course some marketers are more skillful than
others and yes one strategy can be brilliant in its impact
compared to another. But overall it is the brute force of dollars
that establishes visibility which in turn influences perception.
Consider, if I am an advertiser and I wish to brand my product to
millions of people. Do I not have to spend bucketfulls of Dollars
to get that done? Of course I do, don't I?
Now has anything changed with the advent of the Internet? I
believe it has, although we are only beginning to see the thin
end of that change. Up till now advertisers/vendors have held the
commanding heights for the dissemination of information. What the
net has changed and still is in the process of changing is the
balance of power in the dissemination of information. Anyone can
potentially reach large numbers of people not as an advertiser or
a vendor but as a consumer. And the cost of doing that is
virtually zero.
Why would I want to do that? For fun, for interest, for mutual
benefit perhaps? Are we not seeing exactly that behaviour here on
this list. Are we not as consumers (in the broadest sense)
discussing alternative strategies and advising others on this
list what our experience has been. All for free. Whether this is
fired by altruism or the desire for mutual benefit is in a deep
sense irelevant, this is community at work. Now instead of making
a purchase decision, I may approach an appropriate community and
ask the question of my peers, what has your experience been? With
that simple act, I am no longer in thrall to an advertiser's
dollar expenditure. The vendor no longer has the commanding
heights, I as the consumer have that position.
Does anyone on this list seriously believe that such a
significant shift in power will not change forever the way
branding will be achieved? Yet I see very little discussion about
that. All I see is discussion about whether the Internet can or
can not be an effective tool for branding. And often associated
with that I often see discussion about bandwidth and rich media
as if the experience of branding on TV can be superimposed upon
the Web.
What is needed is a re-examination of the branding process in the
light of the new paradigm where the consumer is truly empowered.
Of course there are ways to brand on the web and there are a few
trendsetters who are doing so but none of them are those who are
experimenting with rich media. Rather they are those innovators
who are learning the lessons of interaction and one to one
marketing. The net is not a bradcasting medium, interaction will
rule.
Leo Sheiner <leo_at_netcomuk.co.uk>
Buy into 313 million pageviews p.m. on 9,265 host sites to gain
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mailto:leo_at_global-m.com Telephone +44181 346 0770 Leo
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