SOTB: Failure, Fakery, Shouting and Swearing edition ~ Brand Mix

Saturday, October 23, 2010

SOTB: Failure, Fakery, Shouting and Swearing edition

A mixed bag of stuff this week from branding problems to the effective use of swearing:

1) 41 Causes Of Brand Failure: Branding Strategy Insider
This post from Branding Strategy Insider summarizes their long-running series called the 40 Most Common Brand Problems (now at 41). These are the most common and notorious problems they've encountered.

2) China: The Land Where Fake Brands Reign Supreme: Weird Asia News


Not on the 41 causes of brand failure list, but still a big problem is China, are fake brands. Taking things to a whole new level, the city of Nanjing, east of Shanghai, is soon to open a new shopping center dedicated to some 58 fake brands. There'll be the triple arches of McDnoald’s, a Starbucks lookalike Bucksstar Coffee, Panosaonic electronic products, Gillehe shaving supplies, Pmua sneakers, etc etc. 

3) The animated Sir Ken Robinson: Presentation Zen



Sir Kenneth Robinson explores the failure of education. in this RSA animation adapted from a much longer presentation given at the Royal Society of the Arts in London. It's interesting both for the content of the speech itself and the animation. Garr Reynolds adds another layer of interest here by exploring the persuasive presentation qualities of both the animation and the speech.

4) The Persuasive Power of Swearing: PsyBlog
Not something that Sir Kenneth would resort to, but swearing is persuasive, apparently. Researchers found speeches which included the use of "damn" at the beginning or end of a speech were more influential than ones that didn't. Maybe I should start dropping the "f" bomb in some of my presentations. I think it could work out great.

5) When in doubt, shout – why shaking someone’s beliefs turns them into stronger advocates: Discover

More from the wacky world of cognitive dissonance--when someone's beliefs are shaken, they become even stronger advocates for those beliefs. Could this finding mean that, the current louder and louder volume from people with entrenched positions is a harbinger of a future world of peace and harmony?

6) Superheroes - GEICO commercial


This latest Geico spot was produced entirely in XtraNormal. Inspired by this spot, I am going to post my first XtraNormal spot on branding next week. Stay tuned.

That's it! Back soon with more stories from the world of brand strategy. More thoughts and comments also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).

2 comments:

Winnie said...

RE: "2) China: The Land Where Fake Brands Reign Supreme"

I disagree with the original writer on Weird Asia News at the severity of damage that noticeably fake brands have on brand equity.

If a counterfeit product has misspelled letters and unbranded packaging, it is easily identifiable as a different brand entirely. Therefore, the goodwill from prior brand experiences no longer apply.

It's much more dangerous in traditional cases where counterfeit items are made to pass as the real thing. Customers are unable to separate negative experiences with the counterfeit item from positive ones with the real brand, thus leading to erosion in trust.

As for the shopping mall with counterfeit products, it's a witty concept that pokes fun at the embarrassment that one would normally feel at being discovered with a counterfeit item. The items sold there have novelty value at best, but no real teeth.

As long as the customer is fully aware that their Pmuas are in fact not Pumas, then the real brands have little to worry about.

Martin Bishop said...

@Winnie: Thanks for your comment and I completely agree with what you said. These obviously counterfeit products, especially when presented together in a mall, are more novelty than threat.

 
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