談品牌 What is a brand? 據媒體報導，宏達電公司花了花了一千二百萬美金一年的代價聘請了「鋼鐵人」主角小勞勃道尼為品牌代言。宏碁公司則請了「星際大戰」的主角梅根．福斯來推廣它的個人電腦。 關於花這個代價是否值得，因為許多事，我們外人是不知道的，所以我們也不可能說這件事是好或不好。可是，我們知道許多台灣公司一直都有所謂的「品牌夢」，這些公司不滿足於長期代工的低利潤，甚者被逼著要往更低的利潤走。所以他們羨慕某些美國科技公司能的高利潤。因此這裏，我們試著討論「品牌」在商業世界的意義。 品牌是訊息經濟學討論的主題之一。可口可樂和麥當勞事長期被認為最有價值的品牌之二。雖然2013年最有價值的品牌是蘋果電腦和谷歌，但科技公司通常不容易維持它的品牌價值超過10年。所以這裏我們用非科技公司作為例證來討論。 首先，品牌是傳遞訊息給消費者。 當我們看到了麥當勞的金色拱門，我們立刻就知道，我們在麥當勞餐廳裏可以買到什麼食物，可以得到什麼樣的服務。不管你在哪裏—台北、北京、莫斯科，或墨西哥市—你都知道你可以在金色的拱門下，享受乾淨、安全、價格合理的食物。你也可能都知道大麥克的成分，裏面有幾片起司、幾片醃黃瓜。因為麥當勞是全球知名的連鎖餐廳，它連意外驚喜都不會給你。麥當勞的品牌，已經強力的把要傳遞的訊息輸送給了消費者。 這是品牌的功能：傳遞訊息給消費大眾。 第二，品牌吸引他的消費迷 美國政府在越戰期間曾經大量的運送可口可樂給戰場上作戰的士兵。美國政府用可口可樂來紓解戰場上美國大兵的思鄉病。可口可樂不是一般的飲料，它是美國文化的一部分，對戰場的美國士兵來講，這就是瓊漿玉液。許多非美國人也會用飲用可口可樂來表現他們對美國文化的羨慕，即使他們所能了解的美國文化也僅止於好萊塢電影。 因此，一個品牌對一個公司要有價值的話，這個品牌必須讓他的消費者在使用產品時覺得驕傲。LV, GUCCI,或其它奢侈品就是建立這樣的一個認知，使用他們公司產品的人都是有獨特品味的高雅人士。當然，如果太多非目標消費群使用一個產品，也會使品牌的效果稀釋。蘋果手機iPhone對中國年輕人來講，曾經是一個新潮時髦的產品。可是當這些年輕人的父母親也能夠從電訊公司拿到免費(綁約，不是真的免費)手機，開始使用iPhone之後，iPhone對年輕人的吸引力就不再那麼酷、潮了。 所以，發展一個品牌有些事就必須要考慮：[1] 什麼訊息是你要傳遞給消費者的，[2] 什麼樣的產品或服務可以傳遞你的品牌價值，和[3]什麼樣的媒體或通路可以傳遞你的品牌價值。 請一個有名的人來推廣產品，可能是建立品牌知名度最簡單和最有效的方法。但這僅止於讓人知道你的產品，就是知道而已。至於你產品的印象和維持，這對任何公司來講，在經營上都是巨大的挑戰。 一個品牌的建立，需要培養和維持，這並不容易，需要很多堅持。就像我們鄉下的人說的：「老店，是因為有老客戶」。 What is a brand? 談品牌 The media reported that HTC will spend US$12.00M over one year to hire Robert Downey Jr. to promote its cellular phones. And Acer hired Megan Fox to promote its personal computers. Robert Downey Jr. became an international sensation from starring in the Iron Man series. And Megan Fox is well-known for her starring role in Star Trek. Regarding whether these were good uses of those companies’ advertising dollars, there is too much information that we don’t know as outsiders, so we probably don’t have the capacity to properly evaluate these bold moves. However, we know that many Taiwan IT companies have the “brand dream.” These companies are no longer content to merely play the OEM role with low profit margins, which are being forced progressively lower. So, they envy US technology companies that enjoy high margins. Therefore, here, we are merely trying to consider what the functionality of a brand name is in the business world. The concept of a brand name is a modern creation of the information economy. Both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are among the most recognized brands of the world, and have been so for a long time. Although the most Valuable Global Brands in 2013 are Apple and Google, technology companies often experience difficulty maintaining their brand popularity beyond 10 years. So, in considering the importance of a brand, let use a non-tech company, McDonald’s, as an example. First, a brand delivers a message to consumers. When we see the famous McDonald’s golden arches, we immediately envision what food we can buy at the establishment beneath them, and we instantly know what service level we will receive. No matter where you are—Taipei, Beijing, Moscow, Mexico City or even in the middle of nowhere—you know that you will enjoy a clean and safe environment and reasonably-priced food at the restaurant with the golden arches. You might even know the list of ingredient right down to how many pickles are in a Big Mac because McDonald’s is famous for consistent quality across its restaurant chain. And such knowledge gives people comfort. That is, there are no unpleasant surprises! The McDonald’s brand powerfully conveys all of that in an instant with just the name or the logo. This is the function of a brand: delivering the information that the brand holder wants its people to receive. Second, a brand attracts a fan base. The US government provided a large supply of Coca-Cola for American soldiers in the field during the Vietnam War. The US government used Coca-Cola to help relieve the homesickness felt by soldiers abroad. Coca-cola is not a standard beverage; it is a part of American culture. Many non-Americans drink Coca-Cola to present that they understand and enjoy American culture, and thus are part of the hip or cool generation, even if they only know about American culture from Hollywood movies. Therefore, if a brand name is to have value for a company, the brand has to make the company’s customers feel proud when they use the company’s branded product. LV, GUCCI, and other luxury goods companies are building brand awareness in consumers and potential consumers. Their customers feel like they have superior taste because they chose those luxury brands, and they want other people to know it. However, if too many people start to own a particular brand, the brand’s value may get diluted. For example, Apple’s LV, GUCCI,initially created fashion excitement for young people in China, but such excitement may be deteriorating now that even young people’s parents carry them. In a sense, the iPhone is becoming so prevalent that it could lose its coolness factor. In developing a brand, there are several things to decide: [1] what main image will be delivered to consumers, [2] what products and services will be delivered under the brand, and [3] what media channel will deliver the brand to the outside world. Hiring a celebrity to promote products is probably the easiest and most effective way to build brand awareness. However, this is just for people to know that your products exist. But what exact image you want to deliver and maintain is a different matter and is a greater challenge for companies than simply creating brand awareness (usually by spending money). And once a brand has been established, it must be nurtured and maintained. It’s just like they say about an old shop in the countryside, “the old shop survives because it has old (faithful/loyal) customers.”
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 03:08:33 +0000
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