One of the many interesting things I took out of our Guld text was the idea of equity position in a particular market. A brand that holds equity position in a market is the brand that first comes to mind when in need of a product or service. I’m sure we are all familiar with this notion (e.g think “fastfood”=Micky Dee’s; think “bleach”=Clorox; think “furniture”=Ikea)
I’m sure we can all agree that google has global equity position in the search engine market. I think we can liken this to the struggles of any other (local) brand, especially one of equity position in a particular market just on a much smaller scale.
The article talks about the threats the company is facing and the different directions it is being pressured by industry advisors to take.
There are two things I saw that was very interesting:-the idea of a consumer brand versus industry brand. What are the differences? Please expatiate on this as much as you can in your responses.
Also what do you think about Microsoft’s launch this summer? How do you think the competition between the two elephants will fare (in the early, mid, and later stages)?
Here’s the full article:- http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=136093
Is Brand Google in Trouble?
Media, Rivals Aim to Stir It up for Search Giant, but to Consumers It's Still a Beloved Brand
by Michael Learmonth and Abbey Klaassen Published: April 20, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A little internal test at the Mountain View, Calif., search giant goes like this: You take Google search results, slap them on a Yahoo search page and ask users which results they like better. Inevitably, Google wins -- even though they're the same results. Such is the power of the Google brand, arguably the company's most important asset.
But after a decade of near-universal love, Google is facing its toughest test. It's still got a great product and a good story but it's big enough that competitors are slinging arrows from all directions. And while it's cultivated a fun, easy and helpful brand persona, its culture is highly data-driven and insular. It's a combination that helped it win Round 1 of the search war, but may make managing Brand Google a whole lot tougher going forward
1 comment:
I am intrigued by the potential battle between Microsoft and Google. Judging from other things they've done, I expect Microsoft to bring the heat in terms of a highly useful and innovative product. However, whether or not people feel that Google is on the outs, it will still be hard for Microsoft to simply take those customers away with their new product. People aren't that open to change, so I'm truly interested to see how this plays out.
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