Brand Failures

Internet and new technology failures 227
As many customers’ first experience of a brand is via the Net, it is best to
view online branding as a confirmation of your overall brand identity, rather
than as a quirky offshoot. It is also important to understand the potential
brand damage that can be caused by the Internet.
On the Internet, there is less control over the brand message. If a business
fails to inform the online public about a product flaw or a weakness in its
service, consumers will be quick to inform each other. They can join a chat
room, post a message to a discussion board or even set up their own Web site.
Everyone is connected to everyone else and can make their opinion heard.
This means that the perception of the brand has never been closer to the
reality of the product or service as it is today. There is no fooling the target
market.
The reason so many online brands have failed is that they have been
blinded by the technology itself, and almost forgot the target market
completely. When the crash began on New York’s high tech Nasdaq market
in March 2000, many online brands on both sides of the Atlantic were too
weak to survive it. For many, simply to be a part of this online ‘revolution’
was enough. Success, it seemed, was guaranteed. This wasn’t just a new
channel for business, it was going to completely change the world.
However, as the Internet-related cases in this chapter illustrate, hard
business realities were never as far away as the dot.com entrepreneurs had
liked to think. Building technology brands isn’t any more difficult than any
other form of brand building, providing the relevant companies remember
the lessons of those that have perished. If these lessons can be taken on board,
failure may become the exception rather than the rule for technology brands.