RE: UKNM: 'Wacky Names'

[Richard Uttley]

I think that there may be a little more to this IMHO. When you isolate a

brand (ie divorce it from its peers and its environment) then you could say

that the experience is the brand. But when it's taken in comparison then

perceptions can change. If you hadn't experienced Amazon or similarly

functional sites would you still say that Boo was badly designed? It may

have been difficult to use, but if there had been nothing better it would

have been seen as a leader in the field and the brand may well have grown.


Another point for discussion is the use of the term "image" when describing

a business. Personally I prefer to think of a business having a personality

- like a colleague. A good branding policy will leave me feeling confident

that I could predict what a company would do under a given set of conditions

without ever having witnessed it respond to those conditions before. So if I

received the wrong product from Amazon (and I haven't to date) I would

confidently predict that they would change it immediately, pay the carriage

costs both ways and give me a £5 gift voucher for the inconvenience.


To me "image" is just that; a projection without substance. Brand is a known

persona (good or bad).


Wassat worth? A penny or two?


Richard M Uttley

Marketing Director

Netstep

e-mail:

richardnetstep [dot] co [dot] uk

www: http://www.netstep.co.uk


-----Original Message-----

From: Sam Carrington [

samcsensei [dot] co [dot] uk (mailto:samcsensei [dot] co [dot] uk)

]

Sent: 17 July 2000 18:25

To:

'uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

'

Subject: Re: UKNM: 'Wacky Names'


I agree with Tsugumi, but for my tuppence, I felt it worth adding that

(IMHO) A brand name and a brand experience are two very different entities

- this is also true on the net. A product's image is not defined purely by

the name, it is largely a result of the experience of the site and its

features.


Hence although boo created a 'strong brand' in the traditional sense;

consistent communication, strong logotypes, etc, they failed to

create a useful and smooth user experience, thus fundamentally damaging

their brand values. Google demonstrates an example of a concept or product

which with limited publicity, and a minimal corporate identity has created

a strong online brand through quality user experience. Amazon presents, in

my mind, a good synergy of the two aspects - traditional brand identity,

strong branding due to the name and its associations (discussed in

earlier threads), and a productive, useful user experience.


Its fair to say that the brand _is_ the experience in this context, rather

than being just the result of the image projected. This is to a great

degree the result of the web being an interactive media, where a two way

transaction takes place between site and client. I think a great many

agencies have trouble grasping this interaction - especially if they are

founded in tradtional, or 'one-way' medias such as print and TV.


I have a vague recollection of posting something similar to the above in

the past, but thought I'd rephrase my thoughts and see if they made any

more 'sense' (sorry!) second time round.


sam carrington // senior web developer // sensei.co.uk


On Mon, 17 Jul 2000, Tsugumi Anai wrote:


> Building a brand both online and offline is not just about the name. The

> brand conveys a message about a business. A strong brand can be built

around

> either a wacky or a conservative name providing it has values and

attributes

> that appeal to the target audience, and providing it delivers on its

> 'promise'.



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