Synchro your Schizo

Companies that try to augment their brands' personalities to suit various categories of customers scare me.

I'm thinking like why do you have to try to be all things to all people?

I'm not referring to language conversions. As a matter of fact, I think that the Google toolbar with the automatic website language converter is a great and must-have tool, especially if you are looking to do business in other countries that speak not your native tongue.

Test the links at the top of this page to see what I mean. You can read this site in any of the listed languages.

Super cool!

Neither am I talking about having a varied product line to fulfill a wide range of needs that your customers may have. It's all about vertical integration these days it seems.

What I mean is when you present the same product with several different, often disjointed brand personalities supposedly trying to please several different clients that often are not your true customers.

For example, websites with multiple domains catering to people of different origins, with each domain having it's own "feel". These separate sub-domains are often promoting the same products and usually fail to have any resemblance to one another.

The argument some marketers have is that the people from this region are more interested in leisure and entertainment, hence the multicoloured layout, while those from this province are rather simple and formal so we opted for more beiges.

Huh? But you are selling one product??!!

One destination that has done a great job in presenting one face to the web world is in fact Jamaica.

Their new website at VisitJamaica.com is so awesome. Go there and see it for yourself. They even have a link sharing insight on their "Sprint Factory".

And its a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)! No link for people coming from Hawaii or Japan or Viet Nam. They have one fantabulous website for one Jamaica for all to enjoy!


An Apple A Day...

I also came across this article today about Apple computers. They charge the same price for their computers and parts at all of their outlets.

How is that for continuity?

They also sell directly to their customers or via the Internet so that when you go into an Apple store you only have Apple products to choose from. No competing brands.

And guess what: often times this whitewash marketing approach usually works...

(Here comes the Schizophrenia)

Even if Apple paid actors in Poland to make fake lines at stores selling their new iPhones (right) to drum up interest ahead of their official launch there this Friday.

Wanna bet it pays off?