When I ask people “Which brands do you hate, and why?”, the names and the reasons for disliking said brand come back thick and fast:
1. Stuff no-one needs
2. Adds nothing
3. Costs too much
4. Talks too much
5. Think they matter but don’t
6. Complicates everything
7. Superficial
8. Cowboys
9. Soul-less
10. Clueless
11. Ruthless
12. Ugly
13. Greedy
14. Difficult
15. Bullies
16. Manipulators
17. Bureaucratic
18. Uncool
19. Dinosaurs
20. Liars
Press a little deeper though and you can find that the person with such strong opinions has never bought the brand or had an experience with the brand they “hate”. They haven’t met the people, they may not even have been to a store or tried the brand out. Not once. They may know nothing about the company behind the brand. And they may not want to know.
They feel the way they do, I’m guessing, because others feel that way or because they feel they should feel that way.
Such is the power of brand awareness. Reputation sends such strong signals that we feel we know brands even when we don’t.
