What do Google and Starbucks have in common? Lets see now.. they are both hugely successful, they are both valuable brands and they are both helmed by visionaries. There is of course this one other similarity that many are not aware of...they are both misers when it comes to advertising. Comparatively, both Google and Starbucks spend very little in advertsising in their respective industrie. Yet, they are growing and returning uninterrupted returns to their shareholders. What's the secret?
The secret is simply that they have a winning product and a winning value proposition which build more goodwill than any slick adverstising campaign can ever produce.
This is not to say A&P is not important. In fact sooner or later even Google and Starbucks will have to up their A&P budget when competition and/or consumer trends shifts. The point however is that a winning product-value offering will have a greater impact on long term sustainable return than merely a bombardment of A&P campaigns. The most valuable brand today is probably Coca Cola. I am going to be a heretic for saying this but I am goig to say this anyway : How much is the value of brand Coca Cola is the result of its inherent value proposition as opposed to its consistent and powerful imagery and association in the minds of the consumers. Let me put this way : There are some movies that are popular because of the hype surrounding it while there are others that become great hits simply because it captured the hearts and steadily won viewers. See my point?
Take Phuket for example. In terms of tourism, Phuket stands heads over shoulders above many other destinations in Asia. The thing about Phuket is that it offers something for everybody. It offers a unique blend of experience for both the leisure and buiness travellers that it has created a brand image without even trying. Even a devastating tsunami could not keep it down for too long.
So, Google and Starbucks have build a reputation that is a direct result of their product-value proposition. This is not, as we can see now, soley dependent on A&P.
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Arrifullah of Petronas Fertilizer Kedah : I am glad you enjoyed my write-ups on Proton and MAS. By the way, Datuk Seri Idris Jala recently clarified that the survey on mealboxes involved 35,000 passengers on 383 flights and 91% of the customers were satisfied with the mealboxes. I am happy to see that MAS has provided more details on the survey. Still, I am not sure what 'satisfied' means. What does 91% 'satisfied' response means if the other two choices are 'excellent' and 'great'
Surveys, especially when carried out by interested parties sometimes tends to prove what have been decided rather than to help in making the right decision.
Anyway, it has been reported that the mealboxes are on a trial run until the end of the year and more customer feedback is expected.
My hope, as always, is for Malaysian businesses to make the right service oriented decisions. That, for me, is the only winning formula.
