True, some products are differentiated in all obviousness. For example, you can tell that Famous Amos cookies are much more delicious than Chipsmore, that Milo is better than Ovaltine, that Steven Strait is cuter than- Whoops, wrong product.
Then again, if no branding exists, all companies will produce identical products and all companies will receive the same amount of profit. They will not be motivated to innovate and upgrade their products to improve the lifestyle of the consumers.
However, successful brands tend to have a 'cult' following. What I mean by that is some groups of consumers are so brand-minded that they will buy that one brand and that one brand only. I believe that that is a form of unhealthy branding.
In conclusion, I think that brands should exist to differentiate themselves from one another, but not to form a religion with a group of staunch followers.
Are there any brands that you think stand up for something (an attitude/cause or point of view) that you agree with? Tell us more. What brands do who think are the best at communicating with youth? What do they do that gets your approval?
Google is one of many brands (like Facebook, Microsoft, etc.) which goes green on the big scale. They built loads of windmills, green architecture for its offices and established green employee programmes. I always think that one should play their part in improving the environment whenever one can, especially if one is as rich as Google.
Plus, did I mention that they go green in style? Here are some pictures of Google's office:
If you're rich and already have every material thing you want, you should really help restore our environment, not destroy it further by chopping down more trees and building million-dollar buildings like this:
Save the world, man, save the world.
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I think in today's world, it's not about brands communicating with youth. It's more of youth looking for good brands to communicate with. Did Apple dangle an iPhone in front of youth to entice them? Did YouTube put up posters around the world inviting youths to visit the site?
It seems as if companies are trying to create products they think will suit the youth market, throw it in a box and hope that they win the lucky draw. It seems very difficult to gauge what youths want. If you had asked me before the existence of Facebook if I wanted a social networking site, I'd say I already have Friendster/Myspace, why would I need another one? If you proposed a concept like Twitter, I think most people would say there isn't a need for such a service. Yet today, millions of youth sign on to these sites everyday. Again, every youth wants an iPhone, while other touch-screen phones with (possibly) the same features are less appealing. Why is the world so?
Are all these because of their super effective method of communication? Or did these pins in the haystack got found? Even as a youth, I find it hard to really understand why these sites get my approval; since I wouldn't have even dreamt of wanting these services before their existence.
List down your favourite brands and tell us why do you like them.
I don't judge items by brands, so I can't answer this. Although, I've got to admit I've been a loyal Nokia user for years now, but it's mainly due to my bad experience with other phone manufacturers. Like Samsung that shocked my ear and Motorola that lags like nobody's business.
Can you upload two advertisements (picture or video) that you like and tell is why you like it.
I always like funny advertisements. These two are not local but they definitely are funny! Local companies should really make more of these commercials!
Are there any brands or products that you would be embarrassed of using or being associated with?
I don't have any and I think that nobody should have any. If you like a product/brand, it must be that you derived some sort of benefit from it. Why let what other people think get to what you like to do? Does it matter if they think you're weird? It's not going to affect your life in any manner. I've been trying to make this point apparent to some people but it sure takes time to teach an old dog new tricks.
Does religion influence your choice of brands? If ‘yes’ explain your answer.
No, because I have no religion.
What/where do you find new information about products that you like?
I find them on the internet because almost anything can be found there. If due to some reasons I cannot find any online, I'd probably ask my friends, look through relevant magazines or browse through the newspapers.
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