Love the Brand Not the Product

Ninety percent of the time I purchase products because they perform well and I enjoy the brand. I'm usually open to trying new products and brands, but when I find something that fits it's hard for me to even think about purchasing or using anything else. But lately I've noticed a disconnect in a few brands that I find favorable but do not use or like the product.

Dentyne
I absolutely love the Make Face Time campaign. It makes me smile. I do, however, have to say skip it to the product. No matter how much I like the Dentyne brand, I will always purchase Orbit because I like the product better even though I couldn't tell you much of anything about the Orbit brand. I recommend the strawberry mint. Weird, I know.

Nike
I haven't purchased a pair of Nike kicks since The Great Blister of 2001. I didn't think I even owned anything with a Swoosh on it until I busted out my Twins t-shirt last week and found a small logo. But that doesn't stop me from loving the idea of Nike. I will probably never go out of my way to purchase anything Nike, but I can't help but like the idea of sport that Nike embodies.

Coke
I can't drink Coke, hurts my teeth. But even that "bad" product experience hasn't deterred me from getting a bit excited when I see a Coke Side of Life commercial or see some fizzy bubbles. Coke delivers on brand every time. I will always say I like Coke more than Pepsi. But I'll have a Sprite (with vodka), please.

A few others:

• Sony Bravia. Bouncy balls and rabbits bunnies. Enough said. But getting me to buy? Not unless it comes with the bunnies.

• PBR. The whole art thing is awesome. It's classic. But it still tastes like shit. Maybe even worse than Keystone?

Anyone else have this experience?

Flying Dog, Yer Doin' It Right. Cheers.

Sometimes I miss the timliness boat for a good post and just say skip it.  Sometimes it's because I'm drunk.  When I was in NYC in January my friends and I dominated a couple beer towers filled with delicoius Flying Dog brew.  Before I could finish my first beer I got a comment on my photo from someone at Flying Dog.  Nothing pushy, just a friendly hello before saying that he was from the brewery.  I told him I liked their approach - not just an automatic follow because I mentioned their brand online.  I vowed to post my experience but then apparently forgot due to the beer towers.  

Anyways, last week the dudes over at Mashable had some kind words for Flying Dog.  In addition to everything they're doing right online, I think they are a perfect example showing that succeeding online isn't dependent on the size of your brand, it's about the size of your community.  Their fans are more passionate and involved.  Haven't seen that coming from any Bud drinkers lately. Cheers, Flying Dog, I'm a fan. 

Brands in Action: Beer Winners!

Alright Yaybies, the results are in!  We really appreciate everyone’s participation and involvement with this idea.  It’s been fun reading the responses and hope you enjoyed them as well.

So here’s the deal, I’m going to categorize my favorites and rank them but since people actually competed in the Brands in Action contest, I think you’re all winners.  I know that’s super cheesy and lame but you can’t even make fun of me because I’m going to buy you all beer!

For those who played, and those who want to come drink beer with us, at 5pm today I’m going to walk down for my office to Grumpy’s on Washington and purchase pitchers of beer.  Yay beer!

Most Legitimate Entrants:

1. Xerox.  As in, go Xerox that paper on your Canon printer/copier. Congrats Ben Miller!
   
2. FedEx.  As in, I gotta ship this fast so I’ll FedEx it. Or is that really Priority Mail? Congrats J9!
   
3. Rollerblading.  As in, I’ve got these awesome IN LINE SKATES but I’m Rollerblading. Congrats Alicia!
   
4. Jetski. In a quote from J9: “As in, "Let's go Jetskiing, but, oh wait, you own a POS Yamaha."
   
5. Febreeze. As in, I’m gonna use this Target brand air freshner to Febreeze the basement.” Congrats Boozan!
   
6. Mace’d. As in, "I protested the RNC and got my ass MACED!"
   
7. ‘bookin it. As in, I’m stalking people on Facebook. Congrats Lindsay!
   
8. Wiki it.  As in, I have no idea why I’m so hungover from the beer that Erin bought, I’ll look it up on Wikipedia.  Congrats Jacey!
   

Favorite Brand Variations

1. crAppetizers.  Half price apps at crApplebees! Congrats Libby!
   
2. I’m hungry like Hungry Hungry Hippos. Congrats Johnny Bones!
   

Notable/ LOL Worthy

1. AOL it. As in I had this awesome product but AOL bought it and now it’s tanking. Thanks Jacey!
   
2. Dumpster Diving. Didn’t know Dumpster was a brand! Thanks again Ben.
   

And of course, variations on Yaybia. Oh did you see those new billboards? I’ll have to Yaybia it. Hey did what are you doin? Oh I’m just Yaybia-ing.

So there you go! The first ever Yaybia Brands in Action contest was a success, now get to Grumpy’s at 5pm so I can buy you beer!

Brands in Action for Beer!

The Brands in Action (y'know like verbs!) contest is heating up.  In case you haven't been feverishly checking the comments to see how your brands are stackin' up to the competition, here are the contestants so far.

Winners, consolation prizes, finalists, LOL worthy entrants will be posted early Friday afternoon so stay tuned!

I started with:

1. I TBS’d It – watching the second half of a movie on TBS and then watching the first half when they replay it immediately after.
   
2. Just Google It – searching for any information online.
   
3. Mapquest it First – Number of people using Mapquest: approx 7.  Number of people saying Mapquest when they are really using Google Maps: approx 7 million.
   
4. I watched it on TIVO – Did you really? Or are you watching it on your DVR? That’s what I thought.

And these have been rolling in. Listed in by post time, not order of winning potential. 

FedEx it. As in, "I forgot about sending this package so I FedEx-ed it last minute."

Ikea-ing. As in, "Let's go Ikea-ing and buy crap we don't really need."

"I'm BRing til 4." Meaning I'm working at Banana Republic until 4pm.

"Just book me." aka "Just Facebook me."

iTunes it. As in, I'm going to go and iTunes Season 2 of Burn Notice."

Facebook me- AKA sit in front of your computer for hours and look at my pics dating back to frosh year.

MySpace me- Same as facebook but creepier. And you have to be either 13 or 43, (preferably male).

"BIC"ing (shaving one's head with a Bic razor) as in "I bic'd my head last week and now I look like an alien."

 "Wii"ing (playing on the Wii) as in "Dude, you should see me wii... I am, like, a SUPERSTAR bowler."

"Gucchi"ing (dressing up ridiculously more classy than you will ever actually be) as in "She was all gucchied up, thinkin' she was aaaaaall that and shit. Bitch."

"Yahoo!"ing (being dumb enough to search online via yahoo.com) as in "I'm a dumb ass and haven't discovered Google yet, so I yahoo!ed in."

"Skype"ing (video chatting online via Skype) as in "I like to pretend to have a long distance relationship, so I skype him instead of call him."

"Digg"ing (posting something on the website, Digg) as in, "That Palin/Fey SNL skit? Oh yeah- I dugg that."

"Yaybia"ing (to post on Yaybia) as in "OMG did you SEE those billboards? I MUST yaybia those!"

Mace"ing (pepper spraying someone) as in "I protested the RNC and got my ass MACED!"

"Rollerblade"ing (inline skating) as in, "So, I was rollerblading down the street one day and some little punk threw a stick in my path and I wiped the (expletive) out!"

So maybe this isn't exactly a legal entry, but how about "crAppetizers"? If I suggest getting crappetizers, we all know I mean peach sangrias and nachos from (cr)Applebee's.

Jetsking. As in, "Let's go Jetskiing, but, oh wait, you own a POS Yamaha."

"Xerox," though I haven't heard anyone use it for a while

In the UK, "Hoover" sometimes stands in for "vacuum"

"Dumpster-diving" technically fits the bill, even if 'dumpster' has become pretty generic

Ok guys, keep your brains ticking before I cloud it with the beer I will buy you!

Brands in Action (y’know, like verbs!)

Happy Friday! How ‘bout a contest, yeah?  Hokay So, I’m going to list my favorite brands that have been used as verbs.  Then, in the comments you’ll list your faves.  Those of you that have the most/best/interesting brand verbs will be awarded with a beer (and or other happy hour beverage of choice) paid for by yours truly. Said contest will run from now (Friday September 12th at 5:24pm until next Friday the 19th at the time that I start drinking (usually 3pm-ish).  If you are participating from outside of Minneapolis (which I hope you are!) we’ll work it out ok.  IOUs, send your friend a drink, FedEx?  It’ll happen I swear.

Here goes, Erin’s Faves:

1. I TBS’d It – watching the second half of a movie on TBS and then watching the first half when they replay it immediately after.
   
2. Just Google It – searching for any information online.
   
3. Mapquest it First – Number of people using Mapquest: approx 7.  Number of people saying Mapquest when they are really using Google Maps: approx 7 million.
   
4. I watched it on TIVO – Did you really? Or are you watching it on your DVR? That’s what I thought.

Ok ready break!

*Honorable mentions are available for brand name/tag line integration. Example: At the cabin my dad took me and Libby to a bar called What the Heck.  Before getting out of the car he turns to us and says, “Wisconsin, more bars in more places.”  But no, I will not be buying him beers, only you!