Friday, March 21, 2008

Based solely on its consistent delivery of a simple promise, what is your favorite brand? And what is its promise?

For me, that’s an easy one: Nintendo. Nintendo’s focus on accessible fun has never wavered. And playing a Nintendo game still delivers a sense of wonder and excitement that its competitors have never managed to achieve. Just hearing the name “Nintendo” makes me happy. Can’t say the same for Sony or (yikes!) Microsoft.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favorite's gotta be Corona. Nothing embodies my dream fall back career as a beach bum as Corona. Drinking one takes me on a mini-vacation away from the hustle of the regular day. You hear Jimmy Buffett and can feel the sea salt in the air, even if it's in the dead of winter.

Truzen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Truzen said...

Hate to pop your bubble Dan, but look up Virtua Boy and try to use the phrase "accessible fun".

My brand pick would have to be ATi. Probably better known to people as the number two video card maker in the country, the reason this one gets my respect is because they know who they are, but they keep trying to out do themsevles.

Their strength is based around the All-in-Wonder series of video card, a wonderful blending of video game graphics card and video capture card. It handles both very well and while it may not excel with one over the other, it has continually addressed my specific needs.

... also, no matter how many times I read over my comments, after I publish them, I find a typo.

Anonymous said...

Dude, i just spent the last 2 days playing Super Mario Galaxy from start to finish - still working on getting all 120 stars. Shit is FUN. Where are you at on it?

Favorite brand - Camel. Always there, always addictive, and always keeping me in the dark about its true effects to my health. Sheer beauty.

Anonymous said...

Krichmar. Haha. You're great man. I'm really enjoying your blog. A lot of helpful information. Have you always been into GD? You seem like a talented writer as well. I'm only asking b/c I'm getting my certificate in CW, but more recently I've been feeling more of a pull in the AD and GD direction.

Unknown said...

Hate to be a bandwagon prick, but Nike has never minced words nor confused me about exactly what they were trying to say.
I especially like the "There are no Cinderellas." TV spot that's been airing during March Madness. Even the more wordier "My better is netter than your better."
shit is great and get-able.

And all these avenues lead back to the mother of all tags, that still works after two and half DECADES.

I say Nike. You may hate away.

Unknown said...

Dammit! My typos know no bounds. I meant "My better is BETTER than your better."

Dan said...

I like Nike. Nothing wrong with Nike.
But I have told more than one person, “I don’t own Super Mario Galaxy. Super Mario Galaxy owns me.”
Shoes are just shoes. Nike’s marketing and advertising is great, but the product occasionally disappoints.

Unknown said...

I'm glad Rick rode the brand bandwagon in, 'cause I have to hop on.

Target. The egalitarian Design For All thing works. So consistently well-executed, and so counterintuitive for a discount retailer.

I admit it. I drank the Kool-aid, and I go back for more almost every week.

Dan said...

This is about a week late. It was the obvious choice all along.

Apple has biggest impact on world consumers: survey

By Rachel Sanderson (Reuters)
17 minutes ago

The Apple (AAPL.O) brand has the biggest impact on the world's consumers, while Microsoft (MSFT.O) and the United States nation brand are those considered most in need of a remake, a survey showed on Monday.

The poll by online magazine brandchannel.com asked its readers to identify the brands with the greatest impact on their lives, and say how they affected readers' behaviour and their view of the world.

The nearly 2,000 professionals and students who voted named Apple overwhelming winner. The creator of the iPod and Mac computer triumphed in six categories including most inspiring brand and the one readers cannot live without.

Microsoft, the world's largest software maker was also a winner, but it received the dubious honor of the brand most readers wanted to argue with, and the one they most wanted to revamp. Voted into second place in the category was brand USA.

"Apple has clearly captured the hearts and minds by leading across most categories. Others, such as the USA nation brand, which ranks highly as most in need of a rebrand, requires help according to our readers," said brandchannel editor Jim Thompson.

One of the more surprising results from the survey, was that few of the respondents -- who came from 107 countries -- thought that there was such a thing as a "green" brand.

The result comes despite millions of dollars spent by some of the world's biggest companies to rebrand themselves as "environmentally-friendly."

Discussing Apple, one anonymous reader said there was "never a dull moment" with the company "reinventing itself all along and providing, over and over again, a new perspective on what we thought was carved in stone."

At the other end of the spectrum, Microsoft had "gone from innovative and bold to stodgy and follower," said another unnamed reader.

After Apple, the most inspiring brands were Nike (NKE.N), Coca-Cola, Google (GOOG.O) and Starbucks (SBUX.O), the survey showed.

The same brands, except with Virgin in place of Starbucks, were the brands most readers would "like to sit next to at a dinner party."

The rankings by brandchannel.com were based on answers from almost 2,000 readers from 107 countries. The survey was conducted online from February 24 to March 9.

(Editing by Richard Balmforth)

gregg said...

no doubt, ESPN.

they promise sports. they give me sports.
except for the occasional hiccups when they value something like poker coverage over soccer...

+ they're a fun brand.