Cars, Apps and the Power of Brand Image in the Digital World

Fast and “sexy” cars are appealing. Adding a celebrity, model or actor alongside the car may add to this appeal. As I noted in my paper, State of the Union: The President, “The Big Four,” and The Fox and the Lion,“You don’t sell a product; you sell the image of a product.”

Of course, when a consumer is in the market for a vehicle, (though they may have the image in their head) it’s unlikely they’ll be test driving a car with the rich and famous-but it’s an idea worth looking into. Not as exciting or pricey as cars, everyday products may seem difficult to market.

Lucky for the producer, consumers are not so much concerned about the condition of these products as they are about the experience in buying them, and possibly the price. In fact, many have been known to go to “swap meets” or “yard sales” for both the experience and buying inexpensive items.

Amazon has reportedly been compared to a “yard sale” of sorts. One can find an array of these “yards” online from which to buy, exchange, or sell new and used items. Indeed, the most unattractive items can be made to look appealing by leveraging the power of brand image in the colorful digital world.   

Revenue derives, largely, from the power of the company’s brand image. Recall, “You don’t sell a product, you sell the image of a product.” But in some cases, a marketing strategy needs to be reassessed to the situation at hand. In the case of a company’s image being tarnished, you sell the service, not the image.  In fact, drastic measures in rebranding such as changing a name or symbol may be avoided by the use of apps.

A few years back, a restaurant reportedly faced criticism for lacking food safety oversight resulting in its market shares plummeting. It appears they’re making a comeback with a new marketing plan – advertise their food as a delivery service you can easily access by downloading an app to sell the service, not the image.

Voilà! There’s no need for you to concern yourself with dining at their facility where negative publicity surrounded their restaurant. They’ll just bring the product to you and you can dine in the safety of your home! Yep, “there’s an app for that”!

Ahh, isn’t digital dreamy! Suddenly, all is forgotten if not forgiven. Let this be a lesson to all you companies that have found yourself in not so good a light. You can take just about any tarnished product or bad restaurant experience in the real world and make it look pretty darn good or good enough to eat in the digital world.

The idea of ordering a car online has gained traction. Let’s see how that idea rides! Consumers, or users, when you’re shopping or ordering online you may wish to ask yourself, I am buying a service, product, or the image of a product?