The NFL made a deal with Microsoft to provide all teams with Surface tablets for use during games. A nice PR event for Microsoft, even given the $400 million they committed to spend, given their tablet was a bit “late to the game” (pun intended).
However, Geekwire reported on an article in The Verge that stated that during the September 7 Saints-Falcons game, the FOX commentator said, “They’ve gotten rid of the pictures and now they’ve got the iPad-like tools.”
Ouch!
Ouch for Microsoft, and a lesson to all of us on why we need to have a brand that transcends the competition. The trendsetter gets permanently locked into peoples’ brains.
You know the lesson here; we need to all ask ourselves if we have a brand as strong as that of the iPad, at least in our world. Being the big fish in a small pond can be great, especially if we constantly solidify our position.
Three times a year I teach a class at the SBA titled, “Dynamically Growing a Consulting Business” and in the section on branding I emphasize building a brand requires:
- Time
- Constant effort
- Repetition
Whether you’re selling a professional service as I do, a product, an industrial service, food or anything else, you have to do the things necessary so that when your product or service is cited, your company is mentioned as the symbol of quality. It takes work but it’s worth it, as I’m sure Apple would attest to when it comes to tablets.