Blog Post #1

Flying Dog Brewery

Flying Dog is one of my favorite brands because of their artistic design based on artwork from Ralph Steadman. Not only do they make great beer, but they originated out of colorado and are avid supporters of Hunter S. Thompson.

Question 1: Finding Flying Dog's key message is a bit hard. They position themselves as the only Gonzo Brewery. The creators knew Hunter S. Thompson personally and center their brand around his legacy. For superlative, they pass with flying colors. They are the only brewery that had direct connections with the late Hunter S. Thompson and still to this day are partnered with Ralph Steadman. No other brewery can claim this. The problem is that this may not be important. For a fan of HST (Hunter S. Thompson) and Ralph Steadman, this is very important. To the regular beer drinker, they may not know who either of these guys are and may simply see a brewery with crazy art. Believable: sure it isn't hard to believe that these guys have a strangle hold on the Gonzo beer market. Plus any small brewery that originated in Aspen CO and now has moved home base to Maryland and is shipping all across the world...there beer must be pretty good. (Not to mention 3 golds, a silver, and won Mid-Size Brewery of the Year in the Great American Beer Festival last september.)
The key here is if their position is important to the regular customer. Most would say no. They are directing their main focus to a smaller audience.

Question 2: Only Flying Dog Brewery can claim to be the Gonzo Brewery. No other brewery started in Hunter S. Thompson's stomping ground of Aspen CO and is partnered up with the Gonzo artist himself: Ralph Steadman.
Substitution? No way, these guys get a 100%.

Question 3: Since the brand is still fairly young, they do not advertise all that much. Majority of their communication is done through word of mouth, online, and directly through their packaging. Much of this is centered around their connections with HST and the art of Ralph Steadman. They use these to illustrate their irreverent stance and slogan "Good Beer, No Shit". Is the product the main focus? Yes and No. The beer labels are highly stylized but still refer much attention to the beer and their bold claims of quality. Much of their communication is based around the connections with HST, sometimes the beer takes a backseat to the bold styling.

Ultimately Flying Dog doesn't pass the DSI test for two big reasons. One: their stance is not that important to many people. Not everyone knows about Hunter S. Thompson, and not all that do care that much about him. To some, they may not be that important. The second problem for Flying Dog is since they heavily focus on their connections with HST sometimes their product takes a backseat to the main advertising.


Apple

Apple is one of my favorite brands because I have never been disappointed with any of their products and because of their marketing campaigns. Their design is clean and rocks...most of the time.

Question 1: Superlative, Important, and Believable. Yes, yes, and yes. From a technology standpoint they are the best at what they do. They create products that function and function beyond the needs of the user. They are simple, they function well, and are easy to use. This is very important for any technology user. If it doesn't work, they won't come back. Apple's claims are always believable and are held up by the experience with the products.

Question 2: When it comes to design, function, and usability, no other brand can do all the things that Apple can (Microsoft sure can't...but they focus on other ideals).

Question 3: In their communication, the product is always the center of attention. Whether it be a commercial for the iPhone or their new line of laptops, Apple focuses on the product above anything else. Much of their ad campaigns are focused on the superiority of their products.

Apple passes on all accounts due to their focus on the product. Their brand is aligned in such a way that allows them to create great working products backed by a solid focused brand.


Sony Playstation

Sony Playstation is one of my favorite brands because it has always been the dominant console when it comes to technology. Sony has had the market cornered as far as boasting the strongest technology in the world of gaming.

Question 1: Superlative. Yes, if you look at each iteration of the Playstation, each has had dominant technology over the competition. (Some may argue that the original Xbox had better tech behind it...but the key to that argument is that the Xbox never played DVD's while the Playstation 2 did). Key aspects of this have been graphics and incorporation of multimedia playback. Both the Playstation 2 and 3 have boasted higher technology than the Xbox or Xbox 360 (the rival position in gaming). Important. Better technology allows for better games. Games are everything for a video game console. Plus the addition of multimedia playback (i.e. DVD and Blu-Ray capability) is a huge aspect to the brand. Believable. The consumer could easily see the difference when playing one next to the other. Believable = yes.

Question 2: No company could claim to be capable of all the things that Playstation consoles can do. They are the only company with that much technology packed into one box. The addition of DVD playback and Blu-Ray playback cemented their position.

Question 3: Their communication is based on the product in all respects. They know they have the best technology out there. They focus their advertising on the product and its capabilities.

Sony Playstation passes. Their whole brand is focused on their products and the technology behind them.

Vans shoes

Vans shoes is one of my favorite brands because of the quality of their shoes and their roots in the foundations of skateboarding. They have stayed true to their style in shoes since the 60's.

Question 1: Superlative: Vans has always been the authentic original skate shoe. To this day they are very functional skate shoes that have held firm to their roots. Important: It is very important for skateboarders to have well built shoes because of the extreme conditions they put them through. They may not be the best made shoes on the market, but they are the originals. Believable: They have been around since 1966 and are still a major player in the skate shoe market, very believable.

Question 2: No other skate company has a set history and visual effect on culture like Vans has. No other company can claim this kind of history with their product.

Question 3: Their communication has always been centered around their shoes. There is much focus on the traditions and history of the brand, but it has all been built on the shoes.

I think that Vans passes the test, they have been in the skate shoe market for almost as long as skateboarding has. Their products are their main focus and hold the tradition of upholding skateboarding history.