Twitter is Not a Strategy by Tom Doctoroff

Author:Tom Doctoroff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2014-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Innovative Products

A meticulously defined brand idea also inspires new product extensions, because it provides a focus for innovation. Consumers require much less of a hard sell because new products are simply another manifestation of the brand’s preexisting role in their lives. NikeFuel, introduced in February 2012, is an example of diversifying the company’s revenue stream beyond shoes and apparel with an elegant reinforcement of Nike’s brand idea, which is rooted in pushing the limits of any individual’s athletic capacity. The wristband, used in tandem with Nike+ devices, is a way to measure all kinds of activities, from “your morning workout to your big night out.” Designed to measure whole-body movement regardless of age, weight, or gender, NikeFuel tracks “your entire active life.” Global positioning system technology also allows users to calculate their progress and “compare and compete” within Nike’s online community. (The profitability of NikeFuel is in question. The FuelBand helped lead the company’s equipment division to an 18 percent increase in bottom line earnings in 2011. But in 2014, Nike withdrew from the “wearable technology” market, suggesting that fitness software—that is, Nike+ apps—is more financially bankable.)

It almost goes without saying that Apple’s series of rapid-fire home runs would not have been possible if the entire organization were not committed to “Think Different.” Business analysts have noted that many of Apple’s new products were not technological breakthroughs when they were introduced. The iPad was not the first tablet device; the iPod was not the first MP3 music player. But each item’s elegant design and seamless integration with the iTunes store resulted in an exquisite user-friendly digital ecosystem. Apple’s website puts it nicely: “You’ve never been so easily entertained. iTunes is the easiest way to organize and enjoy the music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books you’ve already got—and shop for the ones you want to get.” Since the mid-2000s each Apple innovation has epitomized the spirit of “Think Different,” a celebration of technology’s power to humanize, to unify rather than divide, communities of the like-minded.

As I have already discussed, De Beers’s brand idea, developed in 1947, has been instrumental in making the diamond engagement ring a tradition in cultures both Eastern and Western. More than a slogan, “A diamond is forever” embodies eternal love that deepens over decades. The gift of a diamond keeps flames burning. But the evocative brand idea has also inspired an array of products that extends De Beers’s role in life, such as the eternity ring—a symbol of continuing affection and appreciation—and the three-stone trilogy ring, which represents the past, present, and future of a relationship. “A diamond is forever” was also deployed to elevate the “Forevermark,” an inscription on the facet of a diamond. Through the brand idea a stamp of product quality has morphed into an eternal mark of love.

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