"After all, they're basically a manufacturing company, not a marketing company, right? The fact that they created a great brand was probably an accident anyway.
But as a marketer, that's what makes this even more infuriating. Creating a great brand usually requires hard work, lots of creativity, and tremendous discipline. When someone pursues the goal in that manner and succeeds, I admire them. But when someone accidentally succeeds, and then destroys their own work, I just want to bang my head against the desk."
Asus created a great brand by building consistently great products - not by marketing or gimmicks. To this day, I refuse to buy any montherboard other than an Asus. I've had Soyos, MSIs, and many other spontaneously fail on me, but never an Asus.
The Eee brand meant something else, and could have become the label for an entire product category. As "iPod" replaced "MP3 player", "Eee" had the potential to replace "real computer small enough to take anywhere without thinking about it too much."
But as a marketer, that's what makes this even more infuriating. Creating a great brand usually requires hard work, lots of creativity, and tremendous discipline. When someone pursues the goal in that manner and succeeds, I admire them. But when someone accidentally succeeds, and then destroys their own work, I just want to bang my head against the desk."
Asus created a great brand by building consistently great products - not by marketing or gimmicks. To this day, I refuse to buy any montherboard other than an Asus. I've had Soyos, MSIs, and many other spontaneously fail on me, but never an Asus.
That's the right way to build a brand name.