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.
On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...
keeping up with the Joneses is still the most powerful buying motive, else we could probably do with a lot less- branded or otherwise.
ReplyDelete