My Car Battery Died, and So Did My Brand Loyalty

Two days ago, my morning started with a small but very real crisis. My car took longer than usual to start. Weak battery. Not catastrophic, but annoying enough when you have a meeting to get to and zero patience for surprises.

The good news is that we live in a world where a car battery can be replaced within an hour, sometimes faster, thanks to apps, chat, and location sharing. Convenience has officially won. The bad news is that convenience only works when the experience actually delivers.

I had two options. Let’s call them Provider B and Provider C.

Provider C was my usual go to. I had used them for my last three battery replacements. They were responsive, reasonably priced, and generally reliable. Provider B, on the other hand, kept appearing in my search results every time I Googled for alternatives. Not new to the market, clearly investing in visibility, and curious enough for me to give them a shot.

So I did what most consumers do. I messaged both providers at the same time to get a quote and see who came back first with the best option. Time mattered. I needed to be in the office by a specific hour and my battery was not interested in my calendar.

Here’s where things started to get interesting from a marketing and experience point of view.

Provider C had recently discontinued their app. Everything was now routed through web chat on their website. The initial interaction was automated. It collected my details, car make, and battery type before handing me off to a live agent.

Provider B took a very different approach. Their entire journey was managed on WhatsApp. The app itself was mostly for profiling, invoices, payments, and showcasing services. Quotes, location sharing, and conversations were all handled by a real human via chat.

Provider C responded first, thanks to automation. It felt efficient. Clean. Structured. Provider B was slightly slower because a live agent was handling the message. At that point, Provider C was winning.

Then pricing came in.

Provider C shared a quote quickly. Provider B followed not long after, though their initial price was higher. Like any rational consumer, I asked both for alternative options on pricing and availability. Same brand. Same battery type. Apples to apples.

This was the turning point.

Provider C went quiet. Ten minutes passed. Then more. Meanwhile, Provider B came back promptly with multiple options, clear pricing, and availability. No back and forth. No waiting. Just answers.

With time ticking and my meeting looming, the decision was made for me.

When Provider C finally replied, the options were more expensive, and the battery I wanted was not in stock until the next business day. That sealed it. I went with Provider B. Faster response. Better alternatives. Cheaper in the end. Problem solved before my second cup of coffee.

From a marketing perspective, this had nothing to do with brand love or loyalty. It had everything to do with speed, clarity, and momentum.

In high intent moments like this, the funnel collapses. Awareness, consideration, and decision happen in minutes. Automation helps until it slows things down. Loyalty exists until urgency shows up. The brand that removes friction fastest wins the sale.

Lessons learnt from a marketing perspective

1. Speed is part of your product
   Response time is not a service metric. It is a conversion lever. When urgency is high, speed beats familiarity.

2. Automation should accelerate, not stall
   Automation is powerful, but only if it hands off smoothly. The moment it creates waiting time, it becomes a liability.

3. High intent moments compress the funnel
   Customers do not move through neat stages. In urgent scenarios, decision making is instant. Your systems need to keep up.

4. Clarity beats cleverness
   Clear options, transparent pricing, and fast answers outperform fancy journeys and polished decks.

5. Meet customers where they already are
   Messaging platforms like WhatsApp reduce friction because users do not need to learn anything new. Familiar tools win under pressure.

6. Loyalty is fragile when time is limited
   Past experience helps, but it will not save you if you respond too slowly when it matters most.

At the end of the day, great marketing is not just about being visible or memorable. It is about showing up at the exact moment a customer needs you and making the decision ridiculously easy. Bonus points if you do it before their battery, or patience, fully dies.

What about you? Do you share a similar experience where brand loyalty is lost through a bad experience?

The Sneaker Rebalance: Why My Rack (and the Market) is Shifting

For all who know me personally, know I have a passion for collecting sneakers. I have a modest collection of about 45 pairs, ranging from brands such as Nike, Adidas, New Balance, ASICS, and Puma. Most of the sneakers I have purchased are what I would consider "art pieces" as I tend to gravitate toward designs that are rare or feature unique, or unconventional colorways.

While about 74% of my collection currently consists of Nike and Adidas, I have noticed a telling trend lately. My last few purchases have all been from either New Balance or ASICS. This is no coincidence. So, I decided to dig into the data, and it turns out the sneaker world is mirroring my personal shift. We are witnessing a massive rebalancing of power in the footwear industry.

The Data Behind the Shift

If we look at the numbers from 2020 to 2024, the incumbents like Nike and Adidas are facing a momentum crisis, while the challengers are experiencing a golden age.

• Nike’s Stalling Engine: Nike remains the undisputed king in volume, but their growth has hit a plateau. In 2024, they hit a wall with near-flat revenue growth. Their stock price faced significant pressure as brand heat cooled.

• The Rise of the Underdogs: New Balance has seen staggering 20% annual growth for four consecutive years, reaching $7.8 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, ASICS has recorded record profits. Their "SportStyle" lifestyle category surged by over 50% in recent quarterly reports.

Global sneaker market revenue 2020-2024

Global Sneaker Growth Momentum

The graphs above tell two different stories: Scale vs. Momentum.

1. Scale: Nike and Adidas are still massive, earning 5–10x more than their rivals.

2. Momentum: New Balance and ASICS are growing 2–5x faster, effectively stealing market share and "cool factor" from the giants.

Global Revenue Growth by Brand (USD)

The Innovation Gap: Why Nike is Stagnating

I see three main reasons why the giant is stumbling:

1. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Overreach: Nike cut ties with many local boutiques to force sales through their own apps. This left a physical void on store shelves. New Balance and ASICS were happy to fill that space.

2. Franchise Fatigue: Nike relied too heavily on the "Big Three", which are the Dunk, Jordan 1, and Air Force 1. By flooding the market with endless colorways, they accidentally killed the scarcity that made these shoes art pieces.

3. The Performance Exodus: Serious athletes are moving to niche brands. When the pro runner switches to ASICS for better tech, the lifestyle consumer follows the cool factor of that performance authenticity.

The New Balance Playbook: How to Build Heat

New Balance’s rise is a masterclass in strategic brand repositioning. Their momentum is a calculated mix of these 4 factors:

1. Collaborations (The Catalyst: 40%)

New Balance didn't just slap a logo on a shoe; they gave creative control to tastemakers who deeply understood street culture.

• Teddy Santis (Aimé Leon Dore): He single-handedly made the "550" the "it" shoe of 2021–2023, replacing the Nike Dunk in fashion circles.

• Joe Freshgoods: He brought storytelling and color that resonated with a younger, diverse audience that previously viewed NB as "boring."

• Action Bronson/Salehe Bembury: They proved the brand could be weird, loud, and hype-worthy.

One of the pairs in my collection, Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002R "Water Be The Guide"

2. Trend / Aesthetics (The Fuel: 30%)

• The "Dad Shoe" Wave: The market shifted toward "Normcore" and "Gorpcore" (functional, slightly chunky, comfortable gear). New Balance didn't have to invent a fake trend; they owned this heritage.

• Right Place, Right Time: When skinny jeans died and baggy pants returned, chunky New Balance silhouettes (like the 9060, 2002R, and 990) naturally looked better with the new fashion silhouette than sleek Nikes.

3. Innovation / Product Quality (The Foundation: 20%)

• Retention: Hype gets you a customer once; comfort keeps them. The "Fresh Foam" and "FuelCell" technologies are genuinely respected by runners.

• Made in USA/UK: In an era of cheap manufacturing, their "Made in USA" line (marketed as premium quality at a higher price point) creates a "luxury" halo that justifies the hype.

4. Marketing (The Amplifier: 10%)

• "We Got Now": Their marketing didn't try to make New Balance look "cool" in a forced way. Instead, they leaned into their identity ("worn by supermodels in London and dads in Ohio").

• Athlete Selection: Signing Shohei Ohtani, Coco Gauff, and Kawhi Leonard signaled they were still a serious sports brand, not just a fashion house.

My latest pick up: New Balance 740

Final Thoughts

As a collector, I am drawn to the newness and superior comfort of my ASICS Gel-Kayano and my New Balance 740. As a researcher, I see a market that is no longer satisfied with brand heritage alone. It wants innovation, quality, and a sense of discovery.

The sneaker industry is no longer a two-horse race. It is a diverse ecosystem where the niche brands are becoming the new mainstream. My next purchase probably will not have a Swoosh or Three Stripes on it. Based on the data, yours might not either.

This video summarizes this perfectly

Interested to see my sneaker collection? 

Search for #dem0nickkicks on Instagram

Article sources:

1. NIKE, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

2. Why Nike Stock Is Down 28% This Year (Nasdaq)

3. New Balance’s Sales Expand 20% in 2024 (SGB Media)

4. New Balance Declares Record Sales in 2024 (SATRA)

5. ASICS Integrated Report 2024

6. Asics Sees 2024 Lifestyle Footwear Sales Surge 50+ Percent (SGB Media)

7. Adidas AG Revenue 2012-2025 (Macrotrends)

8. Adidas Hails ‘Successful Year’ as Revenue Rises (SportsPro)

9. Adidas 2024 Annual Report

10. Google Gemini Deep Market Research

A Marketer's New Secret Weapon: Peeking Inside Google Gemini's Brand Insights

As digital marketers, we're constantly juggling a million things. From crafting the perfect social media post to analyzing campaign performance, staying on top of how our brand is perceived online can feel like a never-ending task. Wouldn't it be great to have a quick and easy way to understand what's being said about your brand across the vast digital landscape? Enter Google Gemini's Deep Research – your new secret weapon for a quick and insightful brand pulse check.

Image credit: Techrdar.com/Shutterstock

I’ve been using this tool quite a bit of late for brand research, competitive analysis and getting a sense of brand sentiment. Let me tell you, this is a game changer! Think of Gemini's Deep Research as your always-on virtual assistant, sifting through the noise online to give you a clear snapshot of your brand's performance. It's not about complex data analysis that requires a PhD, it's about getting a feel for the overall sentiment and key themes associated with your brand – whether it's on websites, social media buzzing with opinions, or even how your app (if you have one) is being received.

Why is this so valuable for us marketers? Imagine launching a new campaign for a brand. Instead of manually scrolling through countless comments and reviews, Gemini's Deep Research can quickly give you an overview of whether the initial reaction is positive, negative, or neutral. This allows for swift adjustments to your strategy if needed. Furthermore, the tool excels at uncovering key themes. Are people raving about the new flavor you just launched? Or are there concerns being raised about the delivery experience for your product orders? Gemini's Deep Research can help you identify the recurring topics and conversations surrounding your brand, highlighting what's resonating and what demands your attention. It serves as a starting point of knowing what to fix.

Image credit: Google Blog

While your primary focus is your own brand, gaining a broader understanding of the market is always beneficial. You can use Gemini's Deep Research to get a general sense of how your competitors are being discussed online, providing valuable competitive insights without the need for overwhelming data. Moreover, catching a negative trend early can be a significant advantage. If there's a sudden increase in complaints about the user-friendliness of your mobile app, this tool can flag it (as it crawls through and aggregate ratings and comments on Google Play and Apple App store), enabling proactive measures before the issue escalates. Finally, knowing what your audience is talking about and their experiences can be incredibly useful for shaping your content strategy. If customers consistently praise (or complaint) on the affordability of your products on social media, this could be a powerful starting point for your next marketing campaign.

Think of Gemini's Deep Research as your initial exploration. It provides a broad overview, a feel for the online atmosphere surrounding your brand. It's not intended to replace in-depth analytics platforms, but rather to offer a quick and accessible understanding.

For example, if you're managing the online presence for a local restaurant chain like Nando's Malaysia, you could use Gemini's Deep Research to see what people are saying about their new menu item across various platforms. Are the reviews overwhelmingly positive? Are there any common criticisms regarding the spice level? This initial insight can then guide your deeper analysis and inform how you tailor your communication.

The beauty of using Gemini for this purpose lies in its intuitive design. You don't need to be a data scientist to interpret the results. It presents information in an easily digestible format, highlighting key trends and sentiments without overwhelming you with intricate charts and graphs.

In our dynamic digital landscape, staying informed about your brand's online presence is essential. Google Gemini's Deep Research presents a potent yet user-friendly method for digital marketers in Malaysia to conduct a rapid pulse check, pinpoint significant themes, and acquire valuable insights to refine their strategies. So, why not explore its capabilities and discover what it can reveal about your brand's online narrative? It might just offer the fresh perspective needed to elevate your overall marketing strategy.

What do you think? Is this a game changer?

5 Things to Consider for Your Brand During the Lock-down Period

We are definitely facing unprecedented times with the current Covid-19 pandemic where across the globe, we have restricted travel and movement between countries, and in some cases, even a lock-down is implemented within the country itself in attempts to contain the deadly corona virus. The issue with it being an unprecedented event is that there is neither a fix protocol nor playbook to actually that tells us what to do in situations like this. For us marketers, there is a constant debate on whether or not do we continue to spend marketing and advertising dollars in a time like this. To me, the matter is quite subjective. I would say it really depends on the type of product or service that you are offering. Some businesses could still thrive in times like this. 

Image credit: blog.squaretrade.com

Make your brand messages relevant

You should consider changing your brand messages to be relevant. The last thing you want to be doing now are having messages that are insensitive and lack empathy towards the situation. For example, if you’re an airline or from the hospitality industry, it’s probably not a good time to be having promotions on your services. Instead, change your messages to give assurance to your customers on what the brand is doing in these trying times.

If you’re in the digital space, it would be relatively easy for you to tweak messages on your ad copies on banner ads and search results so that it can be more relatable to current situation. Also consider changing your imagery on your display ads to suit your ad copy. Avoid using images of crowds, groups or people touching for this current period, just so that your brand is sensitive to current situations.

Use this time to build brand equity

Unless your product or services are deemed essentials, most people during this time are not exactly in the mood to make purchases, especially of high valued items and services. People will tend to prioritize what are “must haves” and what are “nice to haves”. If you have an e-commerce store, great! But be mindful of what you are actually offering to your customers. Do they need it now? Can they live without it? Not to say that if you are not providing essential products and services it will mean all doom and gloom, but instead, take the time to build brand awareness and brand equity. Instead of focusing advertising budgets on campaigns that was meant to drive conversions and sale numbers, which everyone know will take a hit in these times, why not use this time to actually talk about the brand?

Take the airline example above. The brand can highlight on ground stories of their staff and crew, how the brand is doing humanitarian work to help people, what extra safety measures are taken during these time. All these do not directly lead to someone into purchasing a flight ticket straight away, but instead, it builds affinity and love for the brand with your customers. Once the lock-down is over, people will have stronger confidence toward your brand.

Make everything virtual

Given the situation, majority of events or transactions that require physical intervention has been cancelled or postponed. Again, all is not doom and gloom. While it might be weird to have meetings and presentations online, we might be forced to recognize that this will be the new norm post lock-down. Schools, gym classes and church services are good examples of how something that traditionally requires you to be physically present are now online. Yes, it’s not the same, but at the same time, it forces one to innovate and venture into the online space.

For car brands, why not create a virtual showroom with virtual cars and virtual sales assistant? For FMCG brands, why not create a virtual mall, with virtual promoters (or via online chat) to talk about the product as well as to give product demos online? Can’t smell or taste the product before purchase? No problem, get your customers to fill out a form and send them samples! You’re indirectly collecting leads at this point as well. The sky’s the limit actually. It all depends on how innovative a brand can be and what they can do during this period that would make them continue to grow post lock-down. 

Change your digital marketing strategy

If your brand has presence in the online space that uses contextual targeting, please “negative match” anything that has got to do with the pandemic situation if possible. There is a saying, “leave if you’re not here to help me!”. In this case, if your brand cannot offer a solution (like essential products or services) it would be best to avoid showing your ads in those spaces. The counter argument is that there is no need for such an action as it is still creating brand awareness in the minds of consumers, right? Well, while that is true, awareness is one thing, but brand affinity and relevance is another. You would be wasting your ad spends and impressions where your ads become a blind spot in the online space, just because you’re not relevant to the user.

Don’t make fun of the situation

Finally, if you absolutely need to run promotions for your brand, please avoid having headlines like “Special Covid-19 Promotion”, “Corona Sales!” or “Beat the Covid-19 Deals”. Yes, it may sound elementary, but you have no idea how I have across some cringing promo and headlines that brands are using in hopes to capitalize on the situation, but are instead damaging the reputation of the brand. Major fail here.

** This article was picked up by Advertising + Marketing (A+M) and republished with my permission here

Things Not To Do On Social Media #243: Do Not Take Sides

Usain Bolt, currently the fastest man on the planet is also probably one of the most marketable athlete in the world. With brands around the globe just lining up for his endorsement, there are just some things that you cannot do on social media - taking sides.

Though it's not a crime to express a liking for a particular football team, you cannot down play or "insult" the other opponent's team as it is often seen as disrespect and cheap.

In this case, Usain Bolt who just posted a picture of him together with Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry.

The problem is, Bolt cheekily mentioned that he was a fan of Manchester United, one of Arsenal's fiercest rival in the English Premier League and how Henry "played for the wrong team". Although this picture got a lot of "likes" on Instagram, there were a couple of comments from followers (presumably Arsenal fans), who were not too impressed.

The only plus is that this is on his personal account and not for a particular brand. Imagine the PR nightmare the brand has to go through if this were to happen? However, personal or not, if you want to be a well respected ambassador for brands, you should not take sides let alone belittle the competition.

All You Ever Wanted To Know About McDonald's

Ever wondered how McDonald's burger patties are made? What goes into making the perfect Big Mac? What are Chicken McNuggets made of? These are some commonly asked questions about McDonald's globally and I bet even you would like to know the answers to them as well. 

Image credit: business.time.com

Well now you can. McDonald's Canada (@McD_Canada) gives their customers to ask everything and anything about their food.

I first came across this when a colleague of mine shared a video which showed Hope Bagozzi, Director of Marketing of McDonald's Canada going down the field to answer a customer's question on "Why does your food look different in the advertising than what is in the store?". Bagozzi went to a McDonald's outlet, then bought a burger and brought it back to the photo studio and made a comparison to explain why that the ad and the real burgers are different.

The thought of opening a question forum like this, is always subjected to pros and cons. In this case, McDonald's as a brand seemed "more caring" especially when Bagozzi went on ground and took effort to shoot a video to answer a question posted by one of their customers. Customers do appreciate the effort for doing so and in turn, they will trust the brand more for it's transparency, honesty and effort. However, things like these could also lead customers into posting stupid things or using it as a channel to complain or to vent hate about the brand.

Q: "When you say 100% beef, do you mean whole cow: the organs, snout, brain, kidneys, etc or just plain beef we buy @ the grocer?"

Nevertheless, it's still a very good thing McDonald's Canada did. I love the campaign for the fact that they do not rely on a Facebook page for customer interaction, and I do hope that customers would use it for getting answers rather than for malicious intend.

Campaign site: http://yourquestions.mcdonalds.ca/
Note: You can only post questions if you're residing in Canada as it detects your IP address

BeerBeary: Jaz Beer Viral Videos - Part 2

A couple of posts back, I posted some viral videos done by Jaz beer to promote beer drinking tips and tricks. Again, they did a very good job to promote the beer brand here where the main target audience is obviously male beer drinkers. It's very cleverly done as they don't over promote the product. All I can say is a hot girl and beer somehow always seem to go well together.

Episode 4: How to Freeze a Beer in 10 Seconds!

Episode 5: How to "Bottoms Up" a Bottle of Beer in 11 Seconds!

Episode 6: How to Brew Your Own Fresh Beer

Why Are Some Companies Not Keen In Social Media?

This is a problem I commonly face when dealing with some companies. Apart from additional budgets needed to maintain Facebook pages or corporate blogs, it all boils down to lack of resources and knowledge about the media channel. 

Image credit: legitclickmedia.com

Recent stats by Meltwater Group shows that 38% of corporate companies lack resource and time to devote to social media.

With the rise of social media, it is up to media / PR agencies to take the lead and advise corporate clients the benefits of using social media as part of their marketing and branding strategies. One collective issue that I can gather from the chart above is that corporations lack the knowledge simply because they lack the monitoring tools for them to understand and to monitor as well. Unknown to many, there are a wide range of free buzz monitoring or social media monitoring tools available that can be used to keep tabs what is happening in the social media space.

Online tools such as Socialmention can monitor trends as well as positive or negative sentiments about a brand in the social space or using a tool by Momentus Media to conduct a Community Health Check to see if your Facebook page is "healthy". Both of these free tools are amongst the many available free tools that corporations can use to do surface level monitoring as well as keeping tabs on their competitors. Although these tools only give surface level numbers and information, there are of course more in depth analytical tools which are only often available to agencies who purchased them.

The role of a media / PR agency would be to then to come up with social strategies to support their business and marketing objectives. But before anything else, it is important that corporations need to be educated and understand how social media works plus the benefits that the monitoring tools can bring to their company/brand before anyone goes to pitch to them on a social media strategy.

BeerBeary: Jaz Beer Viral Videos

A colleague recently sent me some links about some local viral videos which I personally think has been really well executed. The videos feature a girl speaking in local Cantonese about beer. In the first episode, she talks about how many beers before one fails a breathalyzer test. I bet not many people know (not even myself!) that all it takes is 2 bottles of beer to exceed the local alcohol limit of 0.05%.

In the second episode, she teaches one how to cheat on a breathalyzer test during a roadblock after a night out. I really can relate to the fact that all the methods shown are commonly used by drinkers to make them think that they can cheat the breathalyzer test on their way back home. Key message at the end of this video is that no matter what method you try, you can't cheat on the breathalyzer test and is always better to call a cab, or ask a friend for a ride home if you have drank more than you should. A clever way to entice you watch the video to begin with.

In the third episode, she give tips on how to open a beer bottle without a bottle opener. I think that this is probably my favourite video because I find it useful and not to mention, you can show off to your friends as well.

In summary, I think these videos are brilliant because of:

1. Local content which people can appreciate and relate. The way the girl presents it makes it seem natural and unscripted to a certain extend.
2. Clever product placement and branding. Very minimal and not "in your face", but yet people notice the brand.
3. Content is surprisingly educational. Who would have thought you can educate the public about the dangers of drunk driving this way.
4. The hot girl...obviously

The "Perfect C" Viral Campaign

I was researching through some online viral campaigns to get some ideas that I stumbled across this brilliant viral video campaign.

If you don’t understand Cantonese, the video above shows a young girl who is pissed off at her ex-boyfriend for dumping her 3 months ago. Before they started dating, he used to pay for everything, and once they got together, they went Dutch, but she was still cool with that. The final straw was when he dumps her because her breasts were too small (AA cups). Later, she went for a boob job and now has C-cup breasts and taunts him that no matter what he cannot get to touch or get anywhere near those C-cups ever again.

Now, I must say, this is a very “hook, line and sinker” style of marketing. It build so much talkability and hype that it generated 700k+ views in just a matter of 10 days. The girls’ main intention here is obviously payback for him stereotyping girls with small breasts…or at least that’s what they want you to think. The second part of the video shows the ex-boyfriend who “responds” to her video.

Noticed I used the word “they”? “They” as in the company.

Now in retaliation, the ex-boyfriend looks a bit annoyed at what she has done (who wouldn't?). However, he does not believe she has C-cup breast and asks her to prove it. He says the only way she can get C-cup breasts in 3 months is if you take this (he then whips out the product that “they” were trying to sell). The Perfect C Breast Enhancer! That’s the product. At the end of the video, he even tells you where to get it by giving the website. Brilliant marketing don’t you think? It really shows that online viral marketing really does work!

By the way, more on the product can be found here: The Perfect C

The Brand Quiz

Try taking this brand quiz. It's a clever way to see how people associate color and imagery with some of the world's biggest brands. Each question will show 2 colors, which are the brand's corporate colors, an associated picture and a cryptic clue to enable you to guess each mystery brand. There is also a timer for you to answer all 21 questions in total. I only managed 15 out of 21. It's not as easy as it sounds trust me.

Click here to take the quiz

Brand Yourself Online

Whether you like it or not, you are a brand. How you behave and how you react is what makes each person unique. Having said that, whatever you say or do in the online world is a reflection of who you are. People who like to rant a lot on blogs or via status updates on social media sites are usually whiny people too in real life. In social media is all about the power of influence. It’s therefore very important to note that you need to be extra careful and witty on what you put up on Twitter and Facebook because the general public might not necessarily perceive it the way you really meant. And if you’re a fairly well known individual, it could be rather damaging to oneself.

Similiarly to consumer and service brands, people might lose confidence should they have a bad experience with a particular brand. So the next time you update that "status message" of yours, do remember to put extra thought to your content and also put yourself in your intended audience's shoes and see it from their perspective.

Branding Fashion Through Sports

When you ask someone to name some brands in fashion, well established and brands like Versace, Armani, and Yves Saint Laurent are amongst the few names that will come to mind. These brands have a long heritage and have been in the fashion industry for generations. But when you mention “fashion” about 2 decades ago, brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma don’t seem to fall in that category. It is not until the early 1990s that sportswear have been associated with fashion brands.

Image credit: current.com

Sports fashion today is often associated with lifestyle, attitude and fame. Sportswear makers nowadays make use of the latest in clothing and fabric technology. It therefore makes sense that eventually these technologies are likely to filter down into every day wear. The technology used cost money to develop and investors and companies can gain more profit by offering the technology to a wider group of individuals.

When a celebrity endorses a particular brand, often times it gives the perception to the consumer that the brand is good enough to be worn even by celebrities. Oversized sports clothing like basketball and baseball jerseys are often associated with hip-hop or rap artistes. Music celebrities wear them because they are comfortable, but to the consumer it is often viewed as a fashion statement and lifestyle symbol rather than clothing for sports. Although brands still have collections designed exclusively for athletes and sports enthusiasts.

In recent years, there has been growth in what is known as "luxury sportswear". These “new breed” of sportswear are often times limited edition items which are designed by fashion designers such as Stella McCartney for Adidas; and Philppe Stark and Yasuhiro Mihara for Puma. These lines of clothing are usually special made collections that cost more than the regular sports wear. Consumers will spend on these lines of clothing even though it’s a bit costly as they brand it to be at the same tier as the Armanis, Versaces and YSLs; or that’s what the manufacturers want you to think at least. I for one am guilty of buying limited edition sports wear; simply because it’s “cool” to be seen wearing one and you have bragging rights owning one.

In addition to this, brands are also banking on sports superstars to inspire their line of clothing. Golf celebrity Tiger Woods and basketball legend Michael Jordan did a very good job in building the Nike brand to what it is today. Again, it’s always the consumer’s perception that if someone wears Nike, they will be able to perform as good as both Woods and Jordan.

To sum it up, sportswear has gone through a whole lot of transformation over the years. The perception of sportswear brands became more fashionable, luxurious and marketable in recent years due particularly to the interest in sports personalities and well known celebrity fashion designers used by big brands.

Sources:
http://www.nundroo.com/archives/000008.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswear_%28fashion%29
http://www.fashion-era.com/sports_fashion_until_1960.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc

Don’t Use Social Media If You Don’t Know How

In today’s digital world, online presence has become a necessity in order for companies to survive and to reach out to their customers and clients. Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter has provided everyone with a platform to do just that. As with everything else, there is always a tendency for companies to want to use these tools, simply because it’s the current “in thing” and that everybody is doing it.

Based on my personal experiences, many companies here come to me to ask if I can incorporate these tools as part of their online marketing strategy, but they have no clue whatsoever on how these tools function. My job is to educate them on how these tools work and how it will benefit their company. The first question I always ask my clients, “Who is going to maintain it?” Often times, I will get blank stares from them as though that I’m speaking in some foreign language. But the truth is, unless there is an appointed PR company or a qualified spokesperson from within the company to manage and maintain the use of these tools, I wouldn’t recommend companies venturing into them as yet. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Tools such as Facebook pages and Twitter require constant interaction between companies and their customers. The whole idea of using these tools is to add a “human touch” to the company or brand. Unless of course you have an automated robot intelligent enough to answer questions and respond to each customer directly.
2. Updates. One major use of Facebook pages and Twitter is to push promotions and updates to your followers. If the page is just there for the sake of being there, followers will get disinterested very quickly just like how no one likes visiting a website that hasn’t been updated in a long time.
3. Being professional. I have personally seen some companies on Twitter that often times respond to their customers with lame jokes and casual conversations totally irrelevant to the nature of business. In my opinion, while I agree that companies need to provide a “human” response rather than a template one, they also need to know where to draw the line. Responding to questions casually is still acceptable, but it’s totally unacceptable if it’s got nothing to do with the company product, service or whatever they are set out to achieve. Companies need to know their boundaries on how they respond as it represents the company or their brand as a whole. Which is why I highlighted that it’s very important that these tools are managed by a qualified person who understands clearly of what the company’s objectives are and how they want the public to perceive them.

To sum it all up, my advice is not to venture into social media just because everyone else is doing it. I think companies who are serious into social media must first know how to use it and understand the mechanics of how it works. Only then, social media will be beneficial to the company, otherwise few months down the road, they will be wondering why is there no ROI or participation from the public even after using these social media tools.

David Armano on Brand U.0

David Armano, Senior Vice President of Edelman, talks about Branding U.0 and branding on a personal level. He talks about the 5Bs, which is key on building a brand.

Image credit: Brand U.0 via David Armano Slideshare

Key points:

• "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or organization." - Marty Neumeier
• Branding is about building trust and interactions.

• Everyday people like yourselves are brands - publishing, creating content - having the ability to share and influence others. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey who is highly influential, are brands.

• Everyone on the web has influence.

The 5 B's of Buliding Brand U.0

1. Be Ubiquitous: Create multiple streams of "you"
   - If you're really serious about building a personal brand, you got to figure out which one works for you. If you're going to be on Facebook, how are you going to use that? If you're on LinkedIn, how are you going to use that?
2. Be Social: Effectively manage your "social systems"
   - You got to figure out how to effectively use these social network and these tools to create our own social system, that aligns with our personal brand and make the most of it.
3. Be Interesting: Write, photograph, share, give
   - Share what you know. Write and share the things that you see to make it interesting.
4. Be remarkable: Do something worthy of a remark
5. Be yourself: Let your personality shine through
   - Personality has to be true to who you are as an individual.

Sources:
http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/about-me.html
http://www.slideshare.net/darmano/brand-u0-presentation

Having a Bad Website Design Can Hurt Your Brand (and Experience)

I'm sure all of you have encountered visiting some really horrible looking websites that made you go:"OMG! What were they thinking?". Whilst there isn't any specific rule or law that governs what a website should look like, I do however feel strongly that there is a need to have certain quality control and standards; especially if it involves international brands.

Image credit: www.markbrinker.com

I have two examples of international brands: Kotex by Kimberly-Clark and Krispy Kremedoughnuts, that have been bastardized by our talented Malaysian web designers. You would think that these large corporations (or brand guardians) will spend more money in hiring better quality web designers rather that getting it cheap by outsourcing to freelancers to do the job. Now I'm not sure if these websites were outsourced to a freelancer, but if you ask me, it looks like an assignment by a first year college student.

Kotex Luxe microsite (http://kotexluxe.com.my/)

Lots of wasted wasted real estate on the page

1. There is this annoying animation that swipes across the product box. It's suppose to give the box a shiny gloss effect...WTH for?
2. You probably require 3D glasses to read the footer text. It's so blur, you might end up getting a headache trying to read it.
3. This site doesn't cater for large screens. The design here is tiled and my guess is that the designer was using a 15 inch screen while working on the website. My screen size is only 17 inches, which is small by todays standard.
4. There is this annoying background music that loops and sounds straight out of a porno video. I'm not kidding!
5. The flash animation is so slow. The designer probably animated the website using an older version of Flash or at a very low frame rate. My guess is...this website was done using a very old machine - 15inch screen, old Flash version, cannot support high frame rate animation.

Krispy Kreme Malaysia (http://www.krispykreme.com.my)

You'd probably can feel giddy by just staring at this page for too long!

Seriously...it's NOT HEALTHY to look at this website for a long time. Not because of the doughnuts they are trying to sell you, but the website itself. Look at the background. It can make your eyes bleed and give you a headache. The worst part is, the background is not even tiled properly. Look at the third animated GIF button on the right...I mean..who uses animated GIFs anymore?? Again I feel this website was done by an amateur or it was done very last minute.

International brands or their brand guardians in Malaysia at least, should really put more thought and effort into a website design and how it would affect their company's image and brand. I feel there should be at least someone who needs to be checking and giving the "thumbs up" before making these websites live on the web. No company would want to make their brand look cheap.

I am actually saddened by the fact that many large corporate companies in Malaysia don't pay attention to how their brands are perceived online. Sure they have massive budgets for print, radio and even television ads, but online budgets here are often limited, that I sometimes do not blame the designers or agencies designing and producing such bad websites and online campaigns. It's because of budget constraints and the lack of knowledge on how important online media branding is; one of the reasons why companies in Malaysia are behind our neighbors like Singapore in terms of international brand penetration.

Unless corporate companies put and importance and change their perception of online media and branding, I do foresee more websites such as these two popping up in the near future. As the saying goes: "You pay peanuts, you get monkeys".