Brands to Love

15th Aug 2005 @ 5.05pm

Recently there has been much talk of ‘Love Brands’. I think that this is a very interesting notion, and it got me thinking.

A client recently said that their Board were concerned that if their Brand died, who would turn up at the funeral? Staff members (because they had lost their jobs maybe), perhaps a few advisors or financial types (because they thought that they should be there in case people moved on and became important new clients). But very few customers - because they would just go elsewhere and would not truly care. That brand had not achieved Love Brand status.

When I think about my own life, I have identified a few (very few) brands that I really care about - and sort of love. If they disappeared I would be very unhappy, and my life would change for the worse. If there were a funeral, I would go.

One of these is Apple. I had my first Mac in 1986. It has all of 60mb as an external hard drive, in a box with a cooling fan. it cost £4,000. Yet I ran the business with that machine, and its ease of use made me a true evangelist. As computing capabilities have increased, Apple has stayed true to the mantra that their computers give fantastic yet easy power to their users. I really, really hate PCs. I secretly enjoy seeing people struggle with things that Macs do in an instant. And, for twenty years, I have avidly bought Apple products during the bad times and the good. Love is forgiving, and despite the times that I have had problems (not many of them really), I have never, ever thought of changing to a PC. In my house there are no less than six Macs, all linked on an Apple wireless network. the Storytellers regularly hook up by iChat video, the instant video conferencing system that connects us from anywhere in the world (for free). Love may be blind, but I just know I’m right!

Another is Virgin Atlantic. I will go out of my way to travel Virgin Upper Class - where I am writing these words en route back from the US. Their service, their personality, the interior decor, the quirky eccentricity, and of course the comfort, entertainment and on-board massages all go to make travel something to look forward to rather than endure. I now thoroughly dislike other airlines, and if Virgin Atlantic were to die I would be very sad indeed.

I hope that in time The Storytellers will become a Love brand to some of our clients. It’s a long journey to reach those heights, and getting there will not be easy. But to me, achieving this status would count for more than anything.

What brands do you Love, and why?

posted by Paul Honeywell
filed under Brands