Vivid Curiosity

So the Adamo By Dell micro-site is pretty cool. I definitely like the positioning. I like the high fashion models, the black & white look and feel. I even like the navigation bars: Discover, Admire, Commit. When was the last time a nav-bar alone made me want to click on the buy page? Though I wish you could order right on the page rather than having to go to dell.com. I like how the main co-branding is Adamo by Dell. Because in this case, Adamo is sexy and has some social currency to it. Dell is just along for the ride.

The story behind the product is nice (according to the marketing video), it definitely defines its own space. It seems to scoff at being compared with a MacBook Air. They’ve strayed away from Apple’s all white, smooth finished look and gone with different textures and patterns. But they definitely have some subtle direct hits against other premium laptops.

Adamo has enough ports to be productive, it isn’t flimsy or ‘too light’. (or ‘like a toy’ as they put it). They call the materials honest, and say they have a temperature to them. All in all, this laptop has soul. I liked the m1330 (yes I have one, so perhaps I’m biased) and this is a great follow up. I’ve been wondering who was going to step up to Apple. I think Dell is hitting its stride in both this design and marketing campaign. Now where are some sexy commercials…

In celebration of the new Bond movie coming out at midnight, I’m doing a short post about the James Bond branding.

So for over a decade now, James Bond has been wearing an Omega watch. This branding partnership began in 1995 with Goldeneye when the brand started paying for product placement. Omega replaced Bond’s original watch, Rolex. However in 2006 a study by Millward Brown revealed that 80% of consumers believed that Bond still wears a Rolex. ((http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/10/james-bond-shak.html))

So who else should we expect in Quantum of Solace? Well there’s Coca Cola, Ford (expect an entire fleet of brands under Ford), Heineken, Barclaycard, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Virgin Atlantic, Camelot, Bollinger, Smirnoff. Orbitz (the travel company) and Avon. ((http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/3363200/Live-and-Let-Buy-how-James-Bond-got-a-licence-to-sell.html))

So a while back I wrote about Customer Service being proactive and ending on the note about bundling customer services into preinstalled software.

Today I was thinking, why not take it further? I understand, that preinstalled software, sometimes called bloatware, is a revenue source for PC makers. But it could definitely be a brand builder. Integrated hardware and software adds more value than I realized until lately.

If you’ve ever had to install an rebellious printer or webcam you know what I mean. What if there was an API on top of Vista (perhaps only open to select companies). In otherwords, what if you could buy a slick M1330 that came with it’s own tweaked version of Windows? Even if the change was only mostly eye candy, it would be cool. But what if the prepackaged software was “an experience” so to speak?

I’ve been fascinated with the Obama campaign’s remarkable marketing abilities. The attention to detail is remarkable given the geographic spread and extended time frame. I’m also fascinated with the positioning and counter positioning that comes along with the election year. It seems that the McCain has been positioning Obama as risky, unknown and unproven. His campaign even threw in terrorism to the mix.

So if you’re the protector of the Obama brand, how can you keep yourself afloat? I’m going to suggest a subtle way of changing the perception of your brand. It is more of a long term strategy, so the Obama camp wouldn’t get the most bang for your buck by implementing it quickly before the election.

However, an interesting way to change the perception of your brand is to sponsor events that have attributes you would like your brand to associate with, but where people would never expect to find your brand. The Gay and Lesbian fun of Colorado does this with a lot of very moderate and traditional outlets (including the local NPR station). This helps them promote the idea that their cause isn’t so weird or out there.

You could easily do this with say, Gardenburger or another veggie patty. Let it sponsor a Red-Bull type of event. Can you imagine a Gardenburger Air Race? Or what about an Obama sponsored church event? Obama & name-your-church-here Festival would definitely turn some heads. If you just slap you name on an event, you don’t have credibility. If you put serious thought and effort and show off your brand at multiple events, you can change some minds.

If Obama were to do this, he wouldn’t necessarily need to show up in person. You just need a good group of passionate supporters (passionate both about Obama and the event) to show up. It’s hard to be fearful of a pack of people passionate about something you also love. It would be hard to blow off Obama after that.