Vision - July/August 2008 - (Page 17)

B uilding a CE brand is a fluid art with constantly moving targets. It requires a big-picture view so that ground is not lost in one strategic area while busy strengthening and focusing on another. And it can take skillful navigation of cultural differences when marketing products cross foreign borders. Indeed, as far as a successful brand goes, tech prowess and innovation may not necessarily be a guarantee of market success. A weak brand can make even the most inventive and prolific R&D labs appear somewhat inconsequential. And it’s all made more complex by the emergence of new media. “The role of brands has evolved over the years,” says Hunter Marshall, director of strategy at Interbrand, a global brand consultant. “It’s become something that’s much more than a guarantee of quality but has a lot of strong associations that have gotten beyond product performance, price and features. The brands that have been winning, compared with the ones that have been declining, have been able to build an affinity with their loyal audience—and that results in renewed business.” Marshall’s observations are true across all industries, but of the CE business in particular, he adds: “What’s unique about this space is that you’re only as good as your last product, unless you have managed to win people over.” Who’s on Top? Every year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 brands, measuring their value based on how much in future earnings the brands are likely to bring in for their companies. Twenty-five CE and computer companies made the multi-sector 2007 list. Of those 25 CE-related companies, only six saw their brand value decline or remain the same from the previous year. The positive association with a brand’s larger corporate parent played a role in adding value to the CE brands that saw year-to-year increases. What also appears to be a big factor was the brand’s ability to connect with consumers by making their products easy and fun to use, says Marshall, regardless of whether the products were sleek or sexy. “It’s not just having the best product design, but also making an effort to really provide an engaging experience on devices that can simply be utilitarian,” Marshall says. “They aim to delight. What these brands have in common is that they aim to deliver the user experience.” Underscoring the importance of those two factors— corporate allegiance and product usability—is how companies in the handset and mobile device sector have positioned their brands. July/August 2008 www.ce.org d ichter lan R By Al 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - July/August 2008

Vision - July/August 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Trends Visionary Embracing Disrupting Technology Vaulting Ahead with Your Brand International Risk Stop Boomerang Products CEA Newsline Tech Speak Tech Policy Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - July/August 2008

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