When it comes to my favorite brand, I think it depends on what stage of my life I'm in. I remember being a kid loving sports and having posters of my favorite athletes hanging on my bedroom walls and in my school locker. At that moment leagues like the MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA and their players were my idols. I did not want to be like them or wanted their lifestyles, but wanted to posses their physical skills and enjoy the athletic success they had obtained. Those brands represented the highest level of competition, and I naively believed I would eventually develop the skills to compete with them.
As a grew older and out of that phase, I became devoted to brands like Levi and Nike. I loved these brands because their products represented images of coolness. As a teenager everyone wants to fit in and be liked. I was no exception.
Today I enjoy watching movies. I can not think of a better product or service than Netflix. Why? I grew up in a time where my only choices to watch continuous and unedited movies were pay-TV networks like On-TV, Spectrum and the early days of HBO and Showtime. To watch first-run movies in the comfort of my own home, I paid a monthly fee to a cable provider or went to my local video store, and hoped the movie I wanted to watch was available. Netflix provides me with thousands of movies and TV series (choice), delivered to my home (convenience) without ever incurring a late fee (customer service).
After sitting in class last Friday, I’m wondering am I loyal to the Netflix brand? The answer is “no.” Today I use other film and video search formats like Hulu and YouTube, and I stream movies to my laptop instead of waiting for a Netflix DVD to arrive. I can get reviews on movies from websites like Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes. Technology is changing the way I look at brands. I’m no longer interested in the brand itself, but more interested in the value that a product or service gives me for the price. I’ve become more socially conscience and aware of companies and their business practices and always find myself making choices based on that information. So where is the brand loyalty today?
As a grew older and out of that phase, I became devoted to brands like Levi and Nike. I loved these brands because their products represented images of coolness. As a teenager everyone wants to fit in and be liked. I was no exception.
Today I enjoy watching movies. I can not think of a better product or service than Netflix. Why? I grew up in a time where my only choices to watch continuous and unedited movies were pay-TV networks like On-TV, Spectrum and the early days of HBO and Showtime. To watch first-run movies in the comfort of my own home, I paid a monthly fee to a cable provider or went to my local video store, and hoped the movie I wanted to watch was available. Netflix provides me with thousands of movies and TV series (choice), delivered to my home (convenience) without ever incurring a late fee (customer service).
After sitting in class last Friday, I’m wondering am I loyal to the Netflix brand? The answer is “no.” Today I use other film and video search formats like Hulu and YouTube, and I stream movies to my laptop instead of waiting for a Netflix DVD to arrive. I can get reviews on movies from websites like Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes. Technology is changing the way I look at brands. I’m no longer interested in the brand itself, but more interested in the value that a product or service gives me for the price. I’ve become more socially conscience and aware of companies and their business practices and always find myself making choices based on that information. So where is the brand loyalty today?
