Its interesting to see how riding the coattails has taken on a life of its own in the current vernacular in Silicon Valley. Prominent brands that develop hardware or software often show case their wares by hosting large parties called Developer Conferences or Media Events or some such. Hey if you have dollars to spend on marketing why not? The trickle effect of this effort though is clearly defined by how popular the commodity already is in the market.
Take a very popular communication device that markets its latest incarnation or redesign at a press conference and the hoopla surrounding it starts days or months before the event and concludes much after. So what the brand gets its incidental exposure at no additional cost. Media giants in turn benefit from this sometimes GDP altering event and also boost their own ratings and revenues riding the proverbial coattails (I am still looking for someone who actually has said garment extension).
Such devotion is not seen for example when a lesser known brand does a coming out party for their redesigned wares. They might see some conversation in the 24 hours following their event but the buzz dies out like a semi flat can of soda.
So it stands to reason that the multiplier effect for promoting an already popular product or service is huge with the lesser known under dogs have a hard climb out.
Ultimately the true worth is in the eye of the beholder and there is significant evidence (from the author's vantage) that the beholdees are shutting their eyes to evaluate the product and judge its value and relaying on their neighbor to determine their next purchase. The latter is commonly defined as the herd mentality. This can have the intrinsic effect of dumbing the brain and today's marketing takes full advantage of this vulnerability.
Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry. Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while. Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...
keeping up with the Joneses is still the most powerful buying motive, else we could probably do with a lot less- branded or otherwise.
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