What’s in a name? Apparently a lot these days, and I am not just taking about the girl next door and what her name is. I am talking about name brands that corporations create which give them an identity. These days, a name brand is a powerful way of marketing and advertising for most companies. When you hear certain names, names of companies, one would usually see if you could connect with it or the products and/or the goods that they are selling. A name brand can be seen as a name that requires no introduction, no explanation and very little advertising to give it clout.
Today we live in a society were name brand is power. A name brand is a powerful tool as we associate particular names with social class. That aside, a name brand also represents some companies with quality and reliance with products and services they provide. Lets take a look at a few examples. Tell me, what is the difference with a Toyota and a Lexus? Lexus, one would associate a high power corporate person or a person of wealth. Toyota? The demographics vary as soccer mom could be driving a Toyota Minivan or your everyday lumber worker would be driving a Toyota pick up. We tend to associate that a person of the middle class would drive a Toyota and a successful person would be driving a Lexus. True, a Lexus does offer many gracious amenities but what it all boils down to is that:
- a car is meant to take person from point A to point B.
- Toyota is the parent company of Lexus. Both are built with just as good quality.
So what does it matter if one drives a Toyota or if one Drives a Lexus? Both companies are amazing but if you think about it, it is the same car, its just one is loaded with more features and it is badged with a logo or name, which we associate luxury with.
However, with further research I have found that Toyota has a trick up its sleeve. With this name branding, they had created a sub-division if you will. Toyota had created a new brand by the name of SCION to lure in young buyers. The scheme behind this is keeping the buyer in the “Toyota family” ( Scion>Toyota>Lexus). Scion is marketed to my generation, the Millennial’s if you will. They believe that they can sell my generation a car at an affordable price, which is made by a company that has built up its name on its reputation of quality and reliance (Well it worked, because I own one). Well, what is one to do after they are out of their teenage years and ready to have a family and don’t have a need for a sports car? That’s where Toyota comes in and they market their Minivan’s and SUV’s to you. What about when you retire with a lot of money in the bank once your kids are all grown up? That’s when Lexus steps in promoting a Toyota that’s is badged with a Lexus logo which offers many more features. So what’s in a name really?
I realized that being an American, there is all this hype about name brand. The companies created this to make money off of the consumers but at not real extra cost to them. They know that a name is a powerful tool, which they can use to their advantage. From companies like Toyota, and Gap Inc. and Apple Inc, what does it all mean to us? If I drive a Scion, my car is no less of a Lexus. If I wear clothes by Old Navy, it’s no less then Gap or Banana Republic (Gap Inc. Owns Banana Republic and Old Navy). If I use an Accer Laptop, it’s no less then an Apple Laptop. What it all comes down to is what my father always said, as long as it works, your fine! Because I don’t wear Banana Republic, I am content with my clothes from Old Navy (same thing but cheaper). We can only wonder why people flock to pay more, but that’s America for you. All we do is spend.
1 comments:
You're right about what marketers are doing, and that's a good example about Toyota and Lexus (which, by the way, aren't American :-) ) -- so why does the company market these two different brands? Which brand of car would you buy, and why? Do the brand attributes that you've learned through years of being exposed to advertising really have nothing to do with it?
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