The brand is in the details
Behind every great brand is a critical, creative force that holds the brand to the qualities that set it apart. This force won’t tolerate mediocrity, half-ass execution, or excuses. It’s a force that radically differentiates the brand from the commodity approach of “good enough.” The “good enough” approach leads to products strewn across discount aisles, or piled in remainder bins.
Commodities are “good enough.” Brands are special.
Commodities are “good enough.” That’s why they’re commodities. Brands are special. And when it comes to delivering a special user experience, at the personal level of touch and feel and interaction, small details become amazingly large.
Details make the brand
As a case in point of details that make the brand, we might consider the new Zune HD, pictured above. See where I’ve outlined the word “marketplace.” The review site RantsAndStuff noticed that the full word “marketplace” doesn’t fit on the screen. The final “e” is truncated. Yep. Chopped in half. Read their article for their comments and the comments of others on how this “little” detail makes a big difference.
One excerpt:
It’s the little things like this that make me wonder what else did they not pay that much attention to. They couldn’t have dropped the menu font just a tad to make it fit on the screen? I know I’m nitpicking but shouldn’t someone at Microsoft also be nitpicking this kind of thing?
Of course, brand details are not really “nits.” Brand details are the brand.
In Microsoft’s defense (sort of)
In Microsoft’s defense, the new Zune HD hasn’t been officially released yet, so flaws we see now can still be fixed. Engadget checked it out, with a video, too. So did TechFlash on 8/13. Official release date is September 15, 2009.
The question remains, however: Why send out a pre-release PR picture of a flawed product? First impressions are brand impressions. Why advertise your flaws? It’s not a good sign when the builders of a brand are less attentive than prospective customers.
August 17th, 2009 at 5:28 am
Good post Brian.
And I think you raise an extremely important, though sometimes overlooked point. All great brands are supported/bolstered by brilliant execution.
August 25th, 2009 at 5:46 am
And brands that respect their customers always seem to take care of the details that count.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:58 am
Good piece, you bring up key points. I wonder, though, about the power of a brand such as Google which has been built largely on quite imperfect products. It’s perpetual “beta” approach is now being curbed somewhat as they focus more on fewer, more finished items, but in general they make it a point to get people hands-on in the product development process at its early stages. In this way, there is a dedicated community of people who get invested in the brand through Google’s incorporation of feedback from these enthusiasts. Not every product or company can afford to take this approach, but I do think that the traditional brand development process is being challenged on many fronts.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:50 pm
John,
I think you’re completely correct about the changing nature of “details” in brands, especially as companies move toward co-creating brands with customers. In our digital era, the most critical brand “detail” seems to be how the brand integrates the customer into a wider and more fulfilling world. This is the brand as customer enabler, delivering real value customers can use, rather than some emotional fizz. As such, brand “details” have moved off the product and into the customer proper. As you suggest, great brands will be great listeners.
In my view the company/customer brand relationship is at heart a collaborative brand journey, as I’ve described here: http://tenayagroup.com/blog/2008/05/30/visualizing-the-brand-journey/. The brand model is one of shared iterations, rather than some brand masterpiece delivered from on high.