If you want to have a successful brand in today’s world then you will always have to be one step ahead of your competition in every type of aspect imaginable. Verganti, R (2009) states two attributes that your brand will have to contain in order to be successful and popular in the eyes of the consumer. Firstly, the brand will have to have radical innovation which to me is a pretty obvious attribute, yet the second aspect is slightly less apparent. He claims that ‘People don’t buy products but meanings. Firms should therefore look beyond features, functions and performance and understand the real meaning s users give to things’.
For this claim Verganti uses the Nintendo Wii as an example of how a brand can override its competition through break through innovation along with a collaboration of meanings in which the user can give to the product. Now I can remember when the Nintendo Wii first came out, it was something so new and unheard of that everyone simply had to have ago. It was Christmas a few years back and both my brother and I where given the Nintendo Wii as a combined present. Christmas of course if that time of the year where all the family come together, which in reality for myself and my brother means spending endless hours in front of the TV playing playstation in which the older family members would have simply no part in. I guess this was mainly due to lack of knowledge of how to play the game in the first place. Yet this particular year was a little different, everyone was truly intrigued into what could actually be achieved on this new gaming device. Everyone wanted to have a go and ended up bringing the family closer together that year as a result. The Wii outshined its competitors of the new Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 that year even when being priced considerably lower and changed the way gaming was perceived giving a more meaningful atmosphere. It ‘stimulated active physical entertainment, in the real world, through socialization. The intuitiveness of its controllers made it easy for everyone to play. Wii transformed consoles from an immersion in a virtual world approachable only by niche experts into an active workout for everyone’ (Verganti, R 2009). The argument here is that no one would have thought that gaming could have evolved from the button bashing on controllers, yet through the innovation of meanings it evolved into a virtual world. An idea that is so loved by the consumer that there will be no looking back in the near future.
Brands need to be remembered through a positive word-of-mouth from the consumer, which in this ‘Digital World’ that we are currently living in largely contributes to. Brands need to tackle all areas in order to be successful, whether is through its website, apps, Facebook or Twitter updates etc. The example of the Wii suggests that price and value is no longer becoming an issue compared to building a strong relationship between brand and consumer. This is where the term ‘Seamless Brands’ comes into play. When a brand has build up huge territory they want to protect it and tailor it towards the consumers needs and wants, making them feel special and looked after. It is all to do with creating a positive experience that will reflect your brand. Let me put this into reality with the example of something as little as the error 404 web message when a webpage that you are trying to access cannot be displayed. To many this should equal little significance to a brand but in fact is the complete opposite. Brands are currently being so loyal to customers that the branded consistency is a huge factor with attention to detail. Take this Coca-Cola 404 error message for example
Something as little as a ‘sorry’ from the brand itself and links back to the homepage and other content suggests that they are looking after the consumer a lot more than the competing brand which may give the typical ‘page cannot be displayed’ dead-end as well as further advertising the brand. When branding in this digital world, attention to detail is crucial for keeping consumer interest and keeping a positive brand value ahead of its competitors.
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