Brand Marketing vs. Customer Experience

This post (at least page 2 and beyond) is a bit risque, so I apologize in advance to anyone who might be offended.

First, the serious business stuff.

After I wrote yesterday's post "Brand Marketing = Bad Investment", I remembered a perfect example of the difference between brand marketing and customer experience -- both from the very same firm.

For well over a decade, I've been intrigued by the business model of Panasonic's PC business. While other Japanese electronics firms jumped into the broad-based market for PC, Panasonic focused on "hardened" PCs for use in law enforcement and military applications.

Most of the time, the reason for having a Panasonic Toughbook is just because you can drop the darn things -- or run over them with a truck -- and they'll still work. I even interviewed a military intelligence specialist whose life was saved by a Panasonic Toughbook PC, when it stopped an armor-piercing bullet in Iraq.

It's neat technology, but more importantly, it's profitable. When I used to cover Panasonic as an analyst at Technology Business Research, I calculated that even though Panasonic's unit sales numbers were microscopic compared to Toshiba, they were generating approximately as much net profit.

The Panasonic Toughbook is a perfect example of providing a high-value, high-touch product that has features that are important to the customer. That's why the Toughbook brand commands a premium price. It's certainly not because of the company's brand marketing, which has been minimalist from the start.

What's ironic about this is that Panasonic is also the company that's responsible for the biggest PC branding blunder of all time, bar none. Here's the story.

When Panasonic released a PC for the home market in Japan, they wanted a mascot to show that their PC was friendly, cute and approachable. The marketing team therefore secured the rights to use a character who, like Jerry Lewis in France, is more loved abroad than here at home.

That character was (guess who!):

CLICK here to see the name of that product » Yes, Panasonic named its new PC: The Woody
But wait! There's more...

Certain that they were onto a good thing here, the branding guys at Panasonic decided to "run with the ball" and really get the public really excited about this new product.

The branding guys decided to emphasize the coolest feature of the product -- an advanced touch screen capability that made it possible to interact with the PC without a keyboard or mouse.

In a blaze of branding brilliance, they named that feature:

CLICK here to see the name of that feature »
That feature was named: Touch Woody.
But wait! There's more...

Anyway, the day before the product was to be announced in Tokyo, an American woman working for the company let the marketing team know why foreign journalists kept snickering during the pre-release briefing.

It was too late to change the "Woody" name, but Panasonic executives did manage to change "Touch Woody" to "Woody Touch Screen" in the announcement materials.

Just to be safe, though, the marketing group decided last minute to emphasize a different feature: an automated online support capability that made it easier to keep the PC serviced.

And that feature was named:

CLICK here to see the name of that feature » That feature was named: Internet Pecker
I kid you not.

Now, it's not fair to say that all brand marketing is that bad. Or even close. But the two stories -- the ToughBook versus the Woody -- illustrate a point that I've been trying to make for a long time.

The stuff that marketing does to create a new brand is usually pretty much a waste of time. Yes, you need a good name and need to avoid obvious debacles.

But ultimately, it will be the product and the customer experience with the product that will determine success.