Because omnipresence. I don't know about God, but brands are. From the moment you wake up - toothpaste, coffee, newspaper to work - clothes, scooter, laptop, the restaurant you lunch at to the moment you sleep - pills (if you need to take them!), pillows and ear muffs - almost every material thing that is a part of our every day life is a brand. Apart from awesome things like your mother's hand ground dosa batter, if you think this doesn't apply to you, please post and tell me why!
Honest reason why I started this blog? Frustration. At being yelled at by an Au Bon Pain (fast-casual international bakery chain) employee for having asked him why I wasn't required to sign on the debit card slip, the drama was too long, but the point being I've had some interesting customer experiences over the years (as must you) and thought it would make for a good document, especially the ones where I'm basically asked to f*** off for asking why my mushroom steak had no mushrooms in it. But then again the other day I pointed out to the waiter at Pizza Hut (Forum Mall) that my glass of water was not clean and he got me a complimentary soft drink before apologizing sweetly - this is the kind of thing I'll actually go tweet about. I don't have all the time in the world to write reviews and become this crazy eatery police person, but brands are something to talk about. I love them! I like it that there's products, and creative ads to promote these products, businesses and industries centered around them, people interacting with people because of them and so much more. Brands are fascinating! If I were to describe myself today based on all the things that helped me appear myself it would read like this - Dove shampoo, Garnier conditioner, Listerine + Nivea body lotion, Lakme moisturizer, Maybelline nail color, D&G perfume + Fab India kurta, Lee jeans, Pimkie jacket + Armani reading glasses + Next handbag + iPhone (I guess we can skip the fruit). You see?
Enough justification. Brand managers kindly note.
P.S.1.This is not a brand review blog, these are merely observations which may include high praise of service personnel, squeals of excitement at product launches, foul mouthed rants on restaurant service and generally aimless thoughts on brands, all of which are personal. Also, a note of thanks to my agency brand-comm for inspiring me to think and to express myself.
P.S 2. As for me, I'm brand @codenameashtray and I don't claim omnipresence but you can find me via Twitter!
I second that, Ash. The only thing that "Brands" need to compete for is customer experience. They will save up on so much money invested in advertising, if only they provided exceptional customer experience. Who doesn't want free marketing? They would have even earned customer loyalty and keep their businesses soaring.
ReplyDeleteHere's one such experience: I've been a loyal to my local departmental store from the time I moved to Chennai. And guess what changed that? A piece of chocolate pastry. Yes! I was the last customer to hop into Nilgiris Supermarket that was recently opened in the neighborhood. As I was getting my items billed, I told them I was sorry to have walked in that late. They smiled a sweet smile and told me not to worry, and that they had a box of chocolate pastry packed for 'free'. I don't mind paying more, since I can be sure of good customer experience there! After all it is the gesture that counts.