Planning To Succeed

Going Direct

Mike Moran , in his book Do It Wrong Quickly, explains that branding and brand recognition originated from the introduction of broadcast media. Before radio and TV, people would travel to Main Street and shop at the local stores. You purchased food, clothes and other staples without thought to who the manufacturers were. You wanted candy? You stuck your hand in a big glass jar and dug for your favorite.

For those who mail ordered because they lived in rural areas or wanted something from Europe, they got acquainted with Sears or another publisher of consumer catalogues. The brand still wasn't in the conscious of the average American. Radio and then, TV made people notice brands because manufacturers paid for advertising time that paid for broadcasting companies' salaries. Those advertisers now had to compete for your attention to buy their kind of soap or cigar.

In 2007, people are too brand conscious. Besides the shoplifting and fighting people do over name brands, folks are travels across oceans to be the first to own a pair of sneakers by Hubda Hubda, Inc. Maybe we need to go back to blind selection of quality merchandise. It's possible with Internet access and language translation tools. It's reality to purchase coffee and seasonings straight from a bazaar vendor in Turkey, Jordan or Ethiopia--if you know her email or Web address. There's no language barriers. You can't read the Web site because it's in Mandarin, French, Yoruba? No problem: get the online language translation tool to switch everything in English.

There so many search engines to make it happen--vertical and horizontal. So, is it really iPod you want or digital music and video coming from a light weight device. YouTube? MySpace? YourWorld!

Labels: boutique PR firm, brand recognition, branding, ecommerce, Ethiopia, iPod, Jordan, media, MySpace, radio, society, technology, translation tools, Turkey, TV ads, YouTube

posted by Unknown @ 1:26 PM