INTEL

Perhaps the most successful technology company to balance the dual requirements of innovation and reliability in its branding is Intel. 

Because of the fears consumers have, when things go wrong with technology products they react disproportionately. Take the well documented example of Intel, when initial faults discovered by customers after the launch of the Pentium chip by Intel were potentially devastating,and the company was receiving up to 10,000 calls a day from dissatisfied or unhappy customers. Good crisis management saved the day, and Intel regained their position of trust and high quality performance in the minds of consumers. 

Intel is a model of good technology branding and positioning, and had it not already had a strong position crisis management may not have been enough to save the day. The company really survived and prospered because of this, and has shown how a power positioning approach can solve the problems of consumer technophobia, with its now famous Intel Inside campaign. As a component that is not visible to consumers who buy personal computers, and OEM producers offering price advantages to manufacturers, this was no easy task. 

The Intel position has always been based on authenticity, quality and performance, supported strongly by consistent global campaigns. The Intel Inside logo is placed on all print advertising, print and point-of-sale merchandising, shipping cartons, packaging, and is used by world brand and OEM computer manufacturers. Supported by explanatory communication material, it has to a large extent succeeded in calming the fears of consumers who are doubtful of the performance of critical and complicated product elements they do not understand. The introduction of the Intel 'Bunny people' in astronaut-type attire in an attempt to humanise and add personality to product has not been so successful, being perceived by many as cold and impersonal. 

Interestingly, Intel has now developed individual product brands, as is the case with the Pentium and Pentium II range. The rationale for this is that a name like Pentium ( derived from the Greek word pent meaning five and alluding to the fifth generation of X86 computer chips ) provides a kind of shorthand which is more meaningful to the consumer, summarising the benefits more easily. Pentium II is positioned as a high performance product aimed at business and consumer users. More recently the Intel equivalent of a 'no frills' product range called Celeron has been introduced, still endorsed by the parental name, but meant for a different target audience. This is positioned around value, compatibility and quality, but the Celeron initial offering has not had a brilliant start. 

It remains to be seen whether Intel has really understood the needs of different market segments, and whether or not the cheaper product can hold true to the position and associations that Intel has so single-mindedly projected over the last several years. Also, if consumers will perceive the move as a more risky alternative, and even if it will devalue the position of the higher price existing products. In the worst scenario, the different products might cannibalise each others sales, and generate customer confusion. Intel intends to introduce more branded chips, and careful education of the consumer in this highly complex market will be essential to negate customer confusion and achieve successful brand positioning. 

Brand strengths: humanization, personality, brand name, positioning 


Excerpted from Branding in Asia by Paul Temporal.

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MERCEDES

When Mercedes Benz decided to build its new M Class off-road vehicle, it decided to build it and launch it in the USA. The head of Mercedes USA knew that at its launch, it would be entering a crowded market, and that the mere fact that it was a Mercedes would not guarantee sales. They had to try something different. 

In the USA it is still possible to obtain free access to data and they obtained details of all current owners of off-road vehicles and Mercedes cars. Mercedes then undertook a series of mail-outs to the names on the database. 

It began with a personally addressed letter from the head of Mercedes USA. It said something along the lines of - "...we at Mercedes are in the process of designing a brand new off-road car and I would like to know if you would be prepared to help us..." 

Now America is the land in which you receive probably more direct mail than any other country in the world, but it is not every day that the head of Mercedes writes and asks for your help. There was a significant, positive response. Those people who responded received a series of questionnaires that asked for guidance on design issues such as whether the spare wheel should be outside or inside the vehicle, desired engine sizes, exterior colours and interior designs. 

What is interesting is that, along with the questionnaires, Mercedes began to also receive advance orders. What these customers were feeling was that Mercedes was custom building a car just for them. No other manufacturer had ever involved them in the design and build process in quite the same way. 

As a result, Mercedes pre-sold its first year sales target of 35,000 vehicles. It was expecting to spend some $70 million US marketing the car, but by using this CRM one to one approach, it only needed to spend $48 million saving $22 million. We have heard that this program was so successful that Mercedes is looking to use the same approach in the future with other model launches. 

This case is taken from Romancing the Customer: maximizing brand value through powerful relationship management by Paul Temporal and Martin Trott (Wiley, 2001). The book contains many more cases of how CRM programs can help build brands fast. 


Excerpted from Romancing the Customer by Paul Temporal and Martin Trott. 

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NOKIA

The world of parity has hit the mobile phone market just as it has many other technology product categories. The products range from the simple to the complex, but every manufacturer offers, of course, the latest features. Leapfrogging in sales between brands frequently occurs based on design. But overall the market is predictable, with Nokia, Motorola, and Ericsson fighting it out at the top and several less successful brands like Samsung, Philips, Siemensand Panasonic trying hard to make inroads into their top competitors' market share. So what makes the difference between the most successful and less successful brands? It certainly is not what product features are offered. How, then, do consumers choose? The answer seems to be what the brand names mean to them.

Nokia Group the Finland-based manufacturer of mobile phones, has been steadily working on its corporate brand name and the management of consumer perceptions over the last few years. Its efforts have paid off, because it is now the number one brand in many markets around the world, effectively dislodging Motorola from that position. The brand has been built using the principles described above, and has been consistently well managed across all markets. Nokia has succeeded in lending personality to its products, without even giving them names. In other words, it has not created any sub-brands but has concentrated on the corporate brand, giving individual products a generic brand personality. Only numeric descriptors are used for the products, which do not even appear on the product themselves. Such is the strength of the corporate brand.

Nokia has suceeded where other big brand names have so far failed, chiefly by putting across the human face technology-taking and dominating the emotional high ground. It has done so in the following way.

Nokia Brand Personality
Nokia has detailed many personality characteristics for its brand, but employees do not have to remember every characteristic. They do, however, have to remember the overall impression of the list of attributes, as you would when thinking about someone you have met. As the focus is on customer relationships, the Nokia personality is like a trusted friend. Building friendship and trust is at the heart of the Nokia brand. And the human dimension created by the brand personality carries over into the positioning strategy for the brand.

Nokia Positioning
When Nokia positions its brand in the crowded mobile phone marketplace, its message must clearly bring together the technology and human side of its offer in a powerful way. The specific message that is conveyed to consumers in every advertisement and market communication (though not necessarily in these words) is "Only Nokia Human Technolgy enables you to get more out of life"

In many cases, this is represented by the tag line, "We call this human technology". This gives consumers a sense of trust and consideration by the company, as though to say that Nokia understand what they want in life, and how it can help. And it knows that technology is really only an enabler so that you-the customer-can enjoy a better life. Nokia thus uses a combination of aspirational, benefit-based, emotional features, and competition-driven positioning strategies. It owns the "human" dimension of mobile communications, leaving its competitors wondering what to own (or how to position themselves), having taken the best position for itself.

Nokia Product Design
Nokia is a great brand because it knows that the essence of the brand needs to be reflected in everything the company does, especially those that impact the consumer. Product design is clearly critical to the success of the brand, but how does Nokia manage to inject personality into product design? The answer is that it gives a great deal of thought to how the user of its phones will experience the brand, and how it can make that experience reflect its brand character. The large display screen, for example, is the "face" of the phone. Nokia designers describe it as the "eye into the soul of the product". The shape of phones is curvy and easy to hold. The faceplates and their different colors can be changed to fit the personality, lifestyle, and mood of the user. The soft key touch pads also add to the feeling of friendliness, expressing the brand personality. Product design focuses on the consumer and his needs, and is summed up in the slogan, "human technology."

Nokia now accounts for over half of the value of the Finland stock market, and has taken huge market share from its competitors. According to one brand valuation study carried out in mid-1999, it ranked 11th on the world's most valuable brand list, making it the highest-ranking non-U.S. brand. As has been pointed out, it has unseated Motorola. Nokia achieved its brilliant feat through consistent branding, backed by first-class logistics and manufacturing, all of which revolve around what consumers what.

Excerpted from Hi-Tech Hi-Touch Branding by Dr. Paul Temporal. 

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ACER

Stan Shih is a national hero in Taiwan; Acer is a successful international brand. 

The computer industry is one of the most competitive in the world, having always been dominated by the giants such as IBM. So, how has a Taiwanese company become the third largest manufacturer of personal computers (PCs) in the world, creating a respected, and sometimes feared, brand? How has the company managed to break away from the "Made in Taiwan" image, which like many countries in Asia has been associated with sub-standard products? 

The answer is, of course, the careful construction of a strong brand image. From the very beginning, Shih realized that this was the great challenge, and he positioned his products more at the higher end of the market than any other Taiwanese products had been previously. For example, when entering the Japanese market, he priced his products the same as theirs to avoid the poor-quality image associated with lower-priced products. This was an important signal emitted by the brand-that Acer-branded products were not to be classified as commodities. 

Acer Computer has always spent huge sums of money on research and development, and in this respect, tends to follow the Japanese technology companies. Shih believes in "innovalue"-using innovation to create value in the design and production of cutting-edge products-and leading the industry. It is Shih's company that has actually positioned the PC as an aesthetically pleasing home appliance, and this philosophy is summed up in the new corporate mission statement: "Fresh Technology Enjoyed by Everyone, Everywhere." Fresh does not imply new but the best, namely, proven high-value, low-risk technology that is affordable to everyone, and has a long lifespan. Fresh also refers to innovation based on mature technology that is user-friendly, reasonably priced, and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. Acer Computer has a long history of innovation, and continues to add to this brand strength at every opportunity. 

Acer Computer's aim is to become more consumer-oriented, as it believes that PCs will become consumer-electronic products with a wider range of uses and applications in the areas of communications, entertainment, and education. Acer Computer, therefore, has to become an expert in consumer electronics as well as personal computing. Shih refers to this as a shift from being 'technology-centric" to "consumer-centric." The computer industry has always been the former-emphasizing products more than people. Acer Computer is, thus, repositioning itself to become a customer-centric intellectual-property and service company, as signified by its new slogan: "Acer, Bringing People and Technology Together." To Shih, intellectual property is the value added to the product. Acer adds value by enhancing consumer perceptions of the benefit or value of a product, based on know-how, packaging, design, accessibility, comfort, user-friendliness, niche solutions-the tangible qualities of its products. This is how Acer Computer is building on its already strong international brand, into a global brand. It wants to help people to enjoy their work and their lives. 

One way in which Acer Computer is trying to manage the perceptions of its audience and getting them to think of the company as a major player is through more international exposure, such as its US$10-million sponsorship of the 1998 Asian Games. It succeeded in bringing the company greater international exposure. Another way Acer Computer is managing customers' perception of the company is by partnering overseas companies. By doing this, Acer Computer achieves its overall philosophy of "global brand, local touch," and also hopes to further the perception of being a global brand. 

However, Acer still has to make the leap from being a regional brand to a global one. Although the company manufactures computers for IBM and other major companies, it does not get due credit. In 1998, it was ranked third in the world as a PC manufacturer, but occupied only eighth spot in brand sales. Since then it has moved to seventh place, according to the company. In the largest single market in the world-the United States-Acer's market share in 1998 was less than 5%. 

Acer has to cross the bridge , from world-class manufacturer and regional-market leader to global player. If the result depends solely on Stan Shih's enthusiasm, energy, and ambition, then there will be no doubt about the outcome. But consumers, both corporate and individual, make global brands happen, and therein lies the challenge of changing and managing their perceptions. 

Brand strengths: Founder/CEO's vision, cost leadership, quality products, consumer focus, innovation 


Excerpted from Branding in Asia by Paul Temporal. 

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