brands vs products: Return of the king err the consumer

well whether we like it or not our life is surrounded by ads. Now amidst all the hoola hoop of marketing language and advertising gimmicks may a great product has failed miserably because somewhere the connect that the brand was trying to make with the masses simply did not click. With the technology revolution with advent of social media, information is just a mouse click away - and the realm of google has not been very kind either. Most advertising campaigns - a result of some daring thought process coupled with a healthy dose of copy-paste and the prowess next Mr 'Hunk'/Ms 'IT' or the granddad of Indian cinema, has at the end simply failed to connect with the masses. Stuff keeps flying off the shelf at a supermarket and often in this price conscious market, brand loyalty goes for a toss for product innovation sometimes, lower prices at others. Its not true that the brands are dying altogether but the relationships between products and brands are changing - rather evolving with consumer insights into a product being affected by choices, information other similar products. Most advertisements today have become the ever changing wallpaper on the workstation of a adolescent geek - the brand news and updates we are seeing on different forms of media simply does not cut the cake anymore with the consumers. It is rather the innovative traits the product brings vis-a-vis competition is what is driving sales mostly.

We see large business house spending a truckloads of money in trying to build up brands which is all too well in a perfect scenario and also necessary but amidst all his confusion and glitter of brand ambassadors and messy script of the campaign - product managers fail to realize why a consumer should spend his hard earned time and more importantly money to buy certain "intangible" that a brand brings along. We will not take the case of Apple since back in the 90s Apple too was stuttering under the pressure of a great brand vs not so good products - it was only the advent of the iPOD, iTunes and iPhone and the beautiful integration between the products and the brand and the interaction with the end consumer that say a meteoric rise in Apple fortunes financially and more importantly a great brand. A great product has the essence of being a great brand in the future but untimely rise to cult status has its falls - a chip making company in India is a great case where the brand essentially became so powerful initially, with the lack of actual products on shelf and a average product - it bombed eventually.

Branding is essentially a good exercise - but to simply put it some intangibles in a 10 second campaign on the tube or multiple full page(s) on a national daily will not always make a case of brand recall. Yes it will give rise to fanboys and with viral marketing and social media where everyone is a critique - this might also be essential but at the end you have to put on the customers shoes at some point of time. As of now the brand rules but so do the Apples and Microsofts of the world - better they realize the cost vs apparent product value, thought process that a brand initiates on the consumers mind before a sale - a good product can go a long way in building up a brand, its not always the other way round. At the end the consumer is always the king.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king.

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