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So, Mr Sink says that there are "so many products under the Eee name that soon the brand will be meaningless." He had one reason, but he didn't bother telling u

So, Mr Sink says that there are "so many products under the Eee name that soon the brand will be meaningless." He had one reason, but he didn't bother telling us why that may be true. His only reason was this : there are so many offerings of Eee, the product version or model is unclear and non-specific. As a result, he claims, the brand will become meaningless and die. It is true that "I have an Eee" is as vague as "I have a game console" or, closer to home: "I have a laptop". But meaningless and dying? Historical evidence suggests otherwise. The phrase "I have a DS" doesn't tell you if I have an ugly grey brick-shaped plastic or a beautiful, smooth and colourful piece of art; but it tells you I have a gaming console, speficially, one not made by Sony. The iPod comes in nearly as many different offerings: iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, multiplied by many different version numbers. But I think we can all agree that iPod as a brand is not going to go anywhere, and is certainly not meaningless in the marketing world. Perhaps Asus isn't trying to make Eee stand out as a single product, but rather an entire product series, or perhaps even an entire category all on its own. It is not a "Laptop model number Eee 701 made by company x", but "an Eee". This is the true power of branding, when your brand is so successful that the average person refers to your product not by what it is, but by its very name. If I tell you I drive a Porche, I am not being specific about what kind of car I'm driving, but to some people, what I have suggested matters more than if it's red or an SUV or brand new.

prospero 18y ago
But an iPod or Porsche are used for very specific things (listening to music and going fast, respectively). His point was that the original Eee was useful in a way normal laptops or PCs are not. To apply the same name to more conventional devices dilutes the brand power of the original Eee, much like if Porsche made a pickup truck.
- eru 18y ago
  http://images.google.de/images?q=Porsche%20Cayenne%20PickUp http://images.google.de/images?q=Porsche%20Cayenne%20PickUp
  - Chocobean 18y ago
    Thanks Eru. Exactly. They also make really really ugly SUVs. To other repliers to my original comment, I picked Porsche and iPod because both brands make one (1) type of thing in many (*) different styles and flavours. The Eee is a portable computer (laptop), albeit in many different flavours, just like how all Porsches are automobiles and all iPods are MP3 players. Some are bigger in capacity, some are faster, some are more heavy duty, some are more compact and beautiful in form. All of the brands aim to be an indicator for stylish lifestyle. I am arguing that having a wide range of options under one brand umbrella has worked fabulously in the past for other brands. Also that it does not necessarily dilute the definition of the product, but rather by giving the brand a range of options, completes it and let it become a category all on its own.
    - prospero 18y ago
      Porsche has made little except high-performance sports cars for more than fifty years (certainly that's where they've focused their branding). Apple gained huge market share before making an iPod that did anything other than play music. Asus waited about four months before sticking the "Eee" brand on every product in sight. There's a difference.
      - eru 18y ago
        Oh, and very important for those Americans: PORSH-uh (IPA: /ˈpɔrʃə/).
akd 18y ago
Also, iPod stands for the same thing across its product range -- an MP3 like any other company might make, but more stylish, more trendy, and easier to use. In fact that's what the Apple brand stands for as a whole. What does Eee stand for across its entire product line. Is it stylishness? compactness? low power consumption? You can't send mixed messages about a brand name -- if you look at iPod ads, they all focus on creating the "image" of iPod and they let product-specific ads tackle the feature sets.
- Chocobean 18y ago
  What does Eee stand for across its entire product line? The Eee stands for the same thing across its product range -- a laptop like any other company might make, but more stylish, more trendy, and easier to use, [and more portable than non-Eee laptops]. Is that an acceptable answer? I don't work for Asus Marketing, obviously.

prospero 18y ago

But an iPod or Porsche are used for very specific things (listening to music and going fast, respectively). His point was that the original Eee was useful in a way normal laptops or PCs are not. To apply the same name to more conventional devices dilutes the brand power of the original Eee, much like if Porsche made a pickup truck.

eru 18y ago
http://images.google.de/images?q=Porsche%20Cayenne%20PickUp http://images.google.de/images?q=Porsche%20Cayenne%20PickUp
- Chocobean 18y ago
  Thanks Eru. Exactly. They also make really really ugly SUVs. To other repliers to my original comment, I picked Porsche and iPod because both brands make one (1) type of thing in many (*) different styles and flavours. The Eee is a portable computer (laptop), albeit in many different flavours, just like how all Porsches are automobiles and all iPods are MP3 players. Some are bigger in capacity, some are faster, some are more heavy duty, some are more compact and beautiful in form. All of the brands aim to be an indicator for stylish lifestyle. I am arguing that having a wide range of options under one brand umbrella has worked fabulously in the past for other brands. Also that it does not necessarily dilute the definition of the product, but rather by giving the brand a range of options, completes it and let it become a category all on its own.
  - prospero 18y ago
    Porsche has made little except high-performance sports cars for more than fifty years (certainly that's where they've focused their branding). Apple gained huge market share before making an iPod that did anything other than play music. Asus waited about four months before sticking the "Eee" brand on every product in sight. There's a difference.
    - eru 18y ago
      Oh, and very important for those Americans: PORSH-uh (IPA: /ˈpɔrʃə/).

akd 18y ago

Also, iPod stands for the same thing across its product range -- an MP3 like any other company might make, but more stylish, more trendy, and easier to use. In fact that's what the Apple brand stands for as a whole. What does Eee stand for across its entire product line. Is it stylishness? compactness? low power consumption? You can't send mixed messages about a brand name -- if you look at iPod ads, they all focus on creating the "image" of iPod and they let product-specific ads tackle the feature sets.

Chocobean 18y ago
What does Eee stand for across its entire product line? The Eee stands for the same thing across its product range -- a laptop like any other company might make, but more stylish, more trendy, and easier to use, [and more portable than non-Eee laptops]. Is that an acceptable answer? I don't work for Asus Marketing, obviously.