Category: Branding

Team iPhone or Team Android?

Posted on by Katelyn Youngblood

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit of a tech nerd.  The byproduct of working with different cell phone companies for two years means whenever a friend pulls out his or her phone, I immediately size them up.  I’ve even been known to ask near strangers about carriers and data plans…it’s safe to say I have a problem.

But these days it seems like the world is split into two groups: Team iPhone or Team Android (heaven forbid you still have a Blackberry or worse, a flip phone).  Both sides have fiercely loyal customers, and both have amazing features.  I could write a very long post about which is better, but I promise to avoid that.

Recently, competition between Apple and companies that produce phones with the Android mobile operating system has come to a head.  Apple is suing multiple companies over a series of patent lawsuits, and some believe that recent setbacks could reflect negatively on Apple, causing a dip in sales.

But the question is do consumers really care about that?

Personally, I’m a staunch Android fan because of its customizability and open app platform.  Although Android currently holds the top market share, I often feel in the minority because in recent years, it seems like Apple has become the tech company.

The iPhone is creative, well-made, easy to use, and beautiful to look at.  On top of it all, Apple products have come to indicate the newest and best, and are seen as symbols of status.  If you look at the people around you, odds are it will seem like all of them have iPhones.

Apple has created a name for itself that is so big and so popular that it would take something colossal to shake the public’s confidence in it.  I have a hard time believing that a few legal delays could make a difference.

An Instagram worth a thousand words

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

Some might assume that the news of Instagram’s Android debut being delayed would disappoint my nerdy, amateur photographer self.  They would be wrong.

The social media site and app does seem to fit with my compulsive need to take and share pictures.  And I am excluded from joining because I actively refuse to join the cult of Apple.  But I am not particularly disappointed by the delay nor am I completely sold on Instagram’s potential for something beyond a photo sharing site.

My first hesitation is about the app and it’s fairly petty and more than a little pretentious.  With the ability to filter every picture into an “artistic” shot, I worry about oversaturation and a lack of ability to discern between a truly great picture and a picture that just mimics something truly great.  While I support art for the masses, I don’t think all pictures are created equal even if they are created by the same filter.   I mean, how many color distorted photos of cups of coffee or someone’s lunch are truly great pictures? Or how many do we really need for that matter?

But my second, and more valid, concern about Instagram is the need of its own social media site.  You can upload your Instagram photos to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc.  It’s the redundancy of existing sites that has me concerned.  Obviously, for personal use it doesn’t matter as much but for marketing it might.  Other social media sites were able to find a unique niche for businesses that elevate them as a branding tool.  While businesses are using Instagram and using it well, I am not sure the site itself is a necessity.

I guess I am a little curious for the Android version to be released.  But not to join, instead I’m interested to see if my Instagram-apprehension is well-founded or not.  Though, I am willing to place bets that in a few months I’ll back track on everything I just said.  And then you will be able to enjoy all the vintage looking pictures of coffee cups I can upload.

By any other name

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

It’s fascinating to me when people attempt to change their names.  Like a kid from high school who spent his formative years known as Robby but all the sudden college came around he wanted people to call him Rob.  It makes sense; names ending in y usually aren’t taken as seriously as a solid one syllable name.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be uphill battle.  People are creatures of habit and it’s going to take a lot of “Oh, I go by (insert new name) now” before it’ll stick.

If it’s hard for an individual person to change their name among their social circle you can only imagine the difficulty facing a company opting for a new name!  People spend a lot of money in advertising and marketing to change how the name of their company or product is perceived.  But I have to believe sometimes they wish they could just scrap their current name and start anew!  (I’d guess at least one person after the oil spill suggested BP just change their name and hope no one noticed!)

But Sunsweet is trying to do just that.   I was pretty impressed with the bold move of this Sunsweet Ad attempting to rename prunes as Plum Amazins.  I am not embarrassed to admit it took me a few seconds to recognize that this wasn’t a new product but rather a new name.   Prunes have a serious stigma and are often the butt of jokes.  I think this is the rare case where a name change might actually be easier than trying to change their connotation.  You can say all the wonderful benefits of prunes but it doesn’t change the fact that they are prunes.  Despite the obvious challenges of a name change I think this was probably their best strategy.

Although, I still don’t plan on going out and buying dried plums just because you don’t call them prunes.  But here’s to hoping other people don’t make the same connection!