In other words: your product will always be your product. But your brand is only as resonant as the media it exists in.
On a related note, my Marshall McLuhan books should probably gather less dust these days.
While most brands are calculating just how transparent they want to be about their “social media strategy” this little known Soju brand is completely and utterly naked about it - even the product takes a back seat. Before any fancy rundown of the Hamonii’s “smooth taste” you’re welcomed with twitter feeds, flickr thumbnails, that friendly facebook logo. And you know what? it works.
It’s a simple and brilliant move not only to leverage social media but bring it to the forefront as a defining feature of the brand - if not the vehicle to realize the brand personality and behavior. Brands are slow but they’re learning - it is impossible to obsess about “controlled messaging” and also dabble in the fluid world of social media just to remain relevant. its fundamentally at odds with how we use social networks - relevancy of a “message” (or post or tweet or profile…) is directly related to it’s authenticity. Now, consumers are demanding dynamic brands that speak, change, learn, react, ReTweet, twitpic, tag, poke.
Essentially brands have to be friends, brands have to be lovers….and to be a good friend and lover you must be genuine, transparent and dedicated.
So big win for you, @hamoniishochu.
