Does anybody else loathe the "Brand" culture?

[DJC]

Or is it just me that utterly loathes everything about this notion of buying things on "Brand" value and the ppl involved in this industry to sell things to us on perception of a Brand value, rather than just the inherent value of a product?

Flame proof jacket donned.

[okgo]

Fully agree, we are told to sell the brand, and be the brand and represent the brand. I even went on a training course called brand academy.

fk the brand. Lets get serious here, lets talk about the nitty gritty.

[Austin.J]

Asda 3 quid jeans, best jeans i've ever had.

[Justayellowbadge]

okgo said:

fk the brand. Lets get serious here, lets talk about the nitty gritty.

Jam Hot.

[Fittster]

Everyone claims to not be interested in brands but firms spend billions creating. Either the firms are all wrong or there are a lot of people telling fibs.

[shirt]

Austin.J said:

Asda 3 quid jeans, best jeans i've ever had.

that'd be the smartprice brand then.

[okgo]

Branding works. But I do not like to assume people will buy my product because of its brand/image. Sadly many do.

Edited by okgo on Wednesday 10th June 17:52

[anonymous-user]

I work with a guy who wont buy anything but name "brands". For example, he only ever eats lurpak butter, eats only walkers crisps and wont buy jeans or trainers etc unless they are a named brand such as puma or nike! Me, i buy whatever, be it smartprice or the cheapest going, provided it lasts or tastes nice!

[10 Pence Short]

DJC said:

Or is it just me that utterly loathes everything about this notion of buying things on "Brand" value and the ppl involved in this industry to sell things to us on perception of a Brand value, rather than just the inherent value of a product?

Flame proof jacket donned.

How dare you dis Audi, bro.

[eldar]

snowy slopes said:

I work with a guy who wont buy anything but name "brands". For example, he only ever eats lurpak butter, eats only walkers crisps and wont buy jeans or trainers etc unless they are a named brand such as puma or nike! Me, i buy whatever, be it smartprice or the cheapest going, provided it lasts or tastes nice!

I do similar, even with cars, which proves interesting here.

[jamoor]

snowy slopes said:

I work with a guy who wont buy anything but name "brands". For example, he only ever eats lurpak butter, eats only walkers crisps and wont buy jeans or trainers etc unless they are a named brand such as puma or nike! Me, i buy whatever, be it smartprice or the cheapest going, provided it lasts or tastes nice!

IMO, it varies, some brands are good and worth going for the brand.

If I was going to buy a PC mouse, I wouldn't buy a cheap generic one, I would certainly purchase a Logitech one as I know they have a good amount of experience and I am pretty much guaranteed a quality product, I could buy a generic one and then end up having to get it replaced etc. The product is also reasonably priced. Same goes with an SD card, I would only ever buy a Sandisk/Kingston etc SD card, as I want my data to exist after 2 days.

Some brands that are hugely over their competitors aren't worth it though as they offer no real value over their cheaper counterparts, like £300 jeans etc.

[grumbledoak]

I think the whole 'Brand' crap is exactly that- a load of crap invented by the advertising industry. I don't believe I buy anything as a result of the brand, though I will consistently buy the same product if I like it. That does not mean that I will retain a preference for their other products.

'Johnson and Johnson, a family company'. Silly buggers.

[anonymous-user]

jamoor said:

snowy slopes said:

I work with a guy who wont buy anything but name "brands". For example, he only ever eats lurpak butter, eats only walkers crisps and wont buy jeans or trainers etc unless they are a named brand such as puma or nike! Me, i buy whatever, be it smartprice or the cheapest going, provided it lasts or tastes nice!

IMO, it varies, some brands are good and worth going for the brand.

If I was going to buy a PC mouse, I wouldn't buy a cheap generic one, I would certainly purchase a Logitech one as I know they have a good amount of experience and I am pretty much guaranteed a quality product, I could buy a generic one and then end up having to get it replaced etc. The product is also reasonably priced. Same goes with an SD card, I would only ever buy a Sandisk/Kingston etc SD card, as I want my data to exist after 2 days.

Some brands that are hugely over their competitors aren't worth it though as they offer no real value over their cheaper counterparts, like £300 jeans etc.

Fair point, and like yourself if i was going for pc equipment, then i would ask advice and buy the best i could afford. Has anyone looked at the price of nike trainers in footlocker recently? Now they are seriously overpriced, as are some of the jeans(as you correctly pointed out) on the market at this moment in time. And where the hell do mcdonalds get off charging £4.60 something for a "value" meal?

[ukwill]

Thing is though, it generally figures that quality brands tend to earn their status (hence them being branded as such). No?

[10 Pence Short]

ukwill said:

Thing is though, it generally figures that quality brands tend to earn their status (hence them being branded as such). No?

Sometimes. It's also true that many 'premium' brands actually offer a pretty average product, wrapped up in very fancy packaging. Especially in the motoring world.

[anonymous-user]

ukwill said:

Thing is though, it generally figures that quality brands tend to earn their status (hence them being branded as such). No?

Once again, fair point well made. My point was that, if i can save a few bob by buying perceived lesser brands, then i will do that rather than spending a fortune. For example, if i want bacon and sausages, then i will buy a cheaper less popular brand, as i consider danepack and the like to be very expensive, as are the likes of coke,pepsi,red bull and the likes. However your correct when you say the get their reputation by being a quality brand, although i defy anyone to say that walkers crisps taste better than say...... asda or any other supermarket crisp of the same flaour.

[Don]

ukwill said:

Thing is though, it generally figures that quality brands tend to earn their status (hence them being branded as such). No?

Yep. Some brands actually stand for something. They earn their respect through top quality products that allow the consumer to trust the brand.

So I would buy Nikon or Canon cameras knowing what I buy won't be a piece of st - mostly.

I can buy a Porsche car knowing it will be reasonably performant in its class and adequately reliable. I can buy a Honda lawnmower knowing the engine won't seize etc.

The consumers will only abandon a brand they have experience of if it continually disappoints.

But the way you build the brand is by being good in the first place.

When you let the accountants run the firm and every product is "decontented" to improve margin relying on "brand" loyalty to keep volume up? You will be found out. It may take a little time. But it will happen. Funny how many businesspeople seem to forget this...

[stifler]

As in, "is the other thread a bit sad?"

Yes.

[shirt]

the thing with overpriced jeans etc. is that they are usually from a couture house's diffusion line. couture or catwalk fashion is expensive but can also cost a hell of a lot to produce. to make it in fashion you have to be selling volume, even well known designers can be living fairly hand-to-mouth without sponsorship. £100+ jeans pay the bills and are bought by people wanting brand association.

i'm not justifying it, but the ex. was in the fashion game and its not always the dash for cash that people make out.

as for branded bacon/sossies, get to the butcher you muppet - better and cheaper

[LMC]

I buy cheap jeans, 2 for 1 grub, always on the lookout for bargains.

But it just has to be Heinz tomato soup, Heinz beans, Kettle chips and K-swiss trainers