Case Study 2

Google Android

1. What does this product do for the companies’ brand?

This product allows Google to step out of it's familiar territory - the computer - and in to a whole new one - the smartphone. Google has firmly placed itself at the top, shining above any other internet brand. It provides a trusted search engine, an e-mail service, maps, and countless other services. Now it is branching out into another territory, one capitalized by the likes of Apple and Blackberry. The loyalty people already have with Google should transfer over to this new product, creating a sense of trust without having to fully experience it. However, if the product were to fail or leave a negative impression, then that would affect Google's brand image and they may lose a lot of the loyalty they have spent years building up.

2. What are the sources of Google’s’ brand equity?

The main source is Google's search engine. It is how everyone got to know Google and where their image was built up from. By creating a trusted search engine that is fair and equal it has found itself a fan base of loyal consumers.

3. What are the strengths associated with Googles’ brand?

The ability to give the consumer what they want. Most often for free. When I think Google I think reliability and speed. I am confident that I will be provided with everything I need to find what I'm looking for.

4. Describe some of the design challenges Googles’ Android faces in terms of its publicity, phone design, and marketing?

One challenge Google faces is actually getting some attention out in the smartphone world. Trying to stand out amongst all of the iPhones and Blackberrys is tough, especially when many of the users of the phones that Android runs on aren't even aware that it is a Google product that they are using.
With regards to phone design, it is important to stand out amongst the competition here too. You don't want to have a phone that looks too similar to something that already exists, but you still want the user to feel comfortable with the design and feel like they know where everything is already.
As far as marketing, it will be difficult to market themselves as a brand when people are not necessarily looking at the OS but the phone itself. It will be hard to give the same impression that it is able to give with it's search engine.

5. How does the role of branding differ for consumer services vs. consumer products?

The difference here is that when branding a service such as a search engine, a name can be tied directly to it. You think "I'm going to search for this, I'm going to use Google." However when branding a product that is enclosed within another product, such as Google Android within the HTC Dream, it is hard to keep your name tied to it. You are more likely to say "I'm going to buy the HTC Dream" than "I'm going to buy the HTC Dream which contains Google Android."

6. Evaluate Android in terms of its competitors. How well is it positioned? What are its points-of-parity and points-of difference?

Android is positioned pretty well amongst the smartphones, with it's main competitor being Apple and the iPhone. It managed to climb quite high because it offers many of the things that consumers have come to expect from a phone, such as a touch screen and multitude of applications. What sets it apart is the fact that it is open source. This allows for many possibilities of customization, something that Apple cannot say it offers.

7. What recommendations would you make in order to maximize Android in relation to all of the other software and services Google provides?

I think the first step is to release their own phone that uses Android so that they have a product that people can relate to, instead of being the secondary name to another company's phone. From here they should ensure that all of their other services work on Android, from the search engine to maps to google docs to gmail. It will then be possible to have Android be the number one Google product and have everything else be a subsidiary of it.

8. Who is Google’s consumer base? Does extending its brand bode well for the brand?

I'd say Google's consumer base is anyone between the ages of 8 and 80… old enough to know how to use a computer, and also young enough to know how to use a computer. I do not feel that they have been targeting a specific demographic. However recently with the release of Android it seems like maybe they are trying to target a more hip demographic. By extending the brand they are narrowing their consumer base, whether it is accidental or not. This may lead to a loss of many of their consumers, but for now they are still a company for everyone.