Brands make firms accountable to consumers. People find a guarantee of quality that is assured by the reputation of a brand.
What is good in brands?
- Brands began to emerge as a form of consumer protection. The consumer would know what type of product he/she was buying and if it was as good as the previous one.
- Brands create competition that benefits the consumers. (Wimpy vs. McDonald's)
-Brands have value only when consumers have a choice (as opposed to the non-brand market in the Soviet Union)
-Brands are the tools that companies use to create customer loyalty.
What is bad in brands?
-Brands are vulnerable. Any failed ad campaign, scandal or drop of quality can scare off customers.
-Brands need a lot of work. They need to be cosseted, sustained and protected.
What is controversial?
-Brands create an emotional response in the consumers and it can be seen as an exploitation of the consumers' needs.
-Brands create a promise of a superior lifestyle. This upsets many customers because they do not want to believe in the brand's notion that paying more leads to achieving success or happiness.
BUT: brands are no different from other symbols of success that were valued in the past centuries.
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