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.
This autumn the weather gods cooperated as we took a family trip in the northeast to see six states that qualify or makeup what is known colloquially in America as New England. Mass, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island (tiniest state in the union). The outing helped tally up the states we either lived in, visited or have worked in to 47. Guess which three have eluded this intrepid traveling family. Any rate the drive was all in about 1,800 miles and included some memorable geographic wonders or points of interest. Easternmost part of state of Massachusetts being one. Furthest drivable road east in Mass being another. Visit to all Ivy League schools (term harkens to a collegiate athletics conference and generally regarded as elite academic institutes of some repute worldwide) is another random bucket list item of which this trip afforded the chance to knock two more of the list. Dartmouth in Hanover, NH and Brown (and its sister institute the RISD - school f
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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