the BRAND

I had the fortunate chance to 'touch and hear' an iPod the other day. This friend of mine couldnt keep his hands off it !
Its flying off shelves in US and its a rage in the Indian Pocket-heavy-tech-savvy community.
Lets backup a little.
Its not the BEST Mp3 player in town. People know that. People accept that. But it still sells like crazy.
Its not the CHEAPEST player in Town. People know that. People accept that. But they still fish out money for it.

When a company develops a product - the idea behind it is to sell it. But HOW does one do it? HOW do you 'convince ' the buying party that this is something their life is incomplete without.

Chefs say you eat with your eyes - in other words - what 'looks' good - catches your attention. To a great extent thats true. Of all the 5 sense we have, i guess the sense of sight is the most important to convince the brain. You see Mallika Sherawat and want to copulate with her - without knowing if she is any good in bed or not! You see a ferrari and want to drive it - without knowing if it actually drives better than a maruti. (of course it does - its an example) 

Apple made a hit with the MAC. It was all about the 'Look n feel' of the thing. And even today - you buy a MAC only cause it looks cool. Steve Jobs pulled off a fantastic stint with the iPod. Its sleek, it looks cool and every newspaper in town is talking about it. What more do you need. End of the day - its something that every pocket wants !Take another example - the Bajaj Pulsar vs The Honda Unicorn. The money Honda spent on Unicorn's ad spend was significantly more than what Bajaj guys spend on their Pulsar. But the magic is pretty much evident. 1000 of these pulsars selling everyday !

So - is the Look and Advertising really the ONLY parameters to ensure a products success ? What decides the success of a product? In case of the Unicorn - unfortunate that it comes from the 'Honda' stable. Guys dont buy bikes to commute. Its a statement. The kind of guys who ride a 'Honda' dont have girl friends.
They simply dont need em !
The mental 'Image ' of a Honda is 4 cylinder - 1500 cc water cooled - 6 speed - 160 Bhp - top speed 250+ Kmph. Now when i say i have this AWESOME 150 cc air cooled - 13.3bhp - 5 speed - top speed 100Kmph bike from 'Honda' - it seems to me that this is some NEW HONDA company based out of Bharuch in Gujrat !Its like saying Ferrari is launching a 1000 CC car in India with the most Fuel Efficient engine in the Universe ! Who cares !! I dont buy a ferrari for its FUEL ECONOMY !! 

And THATS what the iPod guys are cashing on - people are willing to spend MORE for what they 'want' than what they 'need'. The reason is simple - you dont compromise on your WANTS. Think about it ...

The concept of price is critical. Companies like HLL fight hard to make sure their products go to the Middle Class bathrooms and kitchens. Companies like Diamler Chrysler only raise the prices of their cars cause they know that people who WANT em - will pay watever it takes !

The sheer 'desire' to want it is the ONLY reason why cars like Ferrari will sell even when there is no petroleum on this earth. Maybach had a target to sell only 10 cars in this year of 2005. They sold 6 on the day of the launch. probably by now they have over shot their target.The idea makes good sense. Make a product that has exceptionally high quality. Sell it to a select few. Make it good and make it expensive. Sell lesser numbers. Generate approx the same revenue and laugh all the way to the bank.

Does this makes sense .... ?