Alan DraperConsumers go online every second of every day to research and evaluate their potential purchases. Brands that do their homework to research and position their product properly can be found easily online. When consumers can’t find a brand online, it could easily equate to a lost sale.
The consequences are equally as bad from the point of view of market research. Let’s assume we’re going to conduct a little social media listening research and we’ve scoured the internet for any opinions about various brands. Below are 30 brands and the results they would achieve with listening research.
Ten Brands That Failed to Predict Social Media: Some brands use words that could mean many different things. An apple isn’t an apple isn’t an apple. Sometimes, if you associate the brand name with a category word, you can be sure of finding the data you were looking for. Which means when data is collected for research purposes, good quality data can be lost in the cleaning process. These brands know what I’m talking about.
- Apple: I ate some apple pie while I played on my PC.
- Target: I wore my new shirt to target practice today.
- Gap: There’s a gap between the two buttons on my shirt.
- Finish: I am going to finish doing the dishes in ten minutes.
- McDonald’s: We went to Uncle McDonald’s for a BBQ.
- Corona: We had a beer and watched the corona.
- Sharp: The image on my computer is really sharp.
- Tide: My pants were dirty from walking in the high tide.
- MRS: Mrs. White loves doing research on the internet.
- Subway: I ate my turkey sandwich on the subway.
Ten Brands Spending Millions on Preserving Their Brand Name: Sometimes, brands choose names that are unique. This is one way to ensure that when people use the word or search for the word online, it can’t possibly mean anything else. In the age of social media, this is what we are striving for. You don’t even have to pair the brand name with a category word to make sure you’re getting the right data. Except these brands lost the coin toss. In every case, these brand names are now synonymous with the category.
- Kleenex = any facial tissue
- Hula Hoop = any large ring you fling around your waist
- Frisbee = any disk you throw at your friend’s head
- Aspirin = any mild pain relief pill
- Xerox = the act of photocopying something
- Google = to search for something on the internet
- Scotch tape = any clear sticky tape
- Band-aid = any bandage for a wound
- Thermos = any container to keep food warm or cold
- Photoshop = the act of changing something on a photograph
Ten Brands That Did It Right: These brands couldn’t ask for anything better. When someone writes one of these brands in social media, we know they mean exactly this brand, and no other brand. How do you know you’ve picked a great brand name like these? First, your word processor will underline the word and tell you it’s spelled wrong. Second, when you do a google search, no results will be returned.
- Adidas
- Chevrolet
- ESOMAR
- Starbucks
- Walmart
- Nutrasweet
- Neutrogena
- Fuddruckers
- Lysol
- Costco
Here’s hoping your brand falls into the third category.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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I don’t see how the brand being synonymous with the category is a “lost coin toss”. Yes, you lose a bit of control over the brand, but every time someone uses Bing they think “shouldn’t I try Google?” or when they aren’t happy with their no-name bandage or tissue, they wonder “maybe I’d be better off spending a bit more with Band-Aid and Kleenex.” Also, not sure about where you’re from, but in Canada, but Lysol and Nutrasweet are just as “generic” here as the others you mention. No one bothers with “household cleaner” or “artificial sweetener”…except, for the latter, if they mean Splenda, which could go on that last list.
You forgot the most important one – MICROSOFT!
Microsoft totally missed the ball re : social media, hey Bill Gates even stood up 10yrs ago and said that the print industry was dead which was totally wrong. The print industry has changed due to business needs (more targeted print), but it certainly isn’t dead.
If anything its thriving very nicely!