(Putting this in MPSIMS because it’s really too trivial for GQ, IMHO.)
I am trying to list the companies that are known for having an adequate-to-good (but typically NOT superior) product that they sell through unceasing and somewhat misleading advertising.* A hallmark is a missing or deeply hidden price. Primarily US/NA but I’d be interested in European ones as well.
The ones that come to immediate mind are Dyson, Bose and (a little less so than formerly) Oreck. I know I’m missing a couple obvious ones…?
*On rereading the post, I can see that this could be construed to include about 90% of consumer product companies. Congrats for thinking that way, but you should know what I’m looking for, here.
I don’t know anything about Oreck, but I’m confused about how Dyson or Bose have a missing or deeply hidden price.
Plus, for both Dyson vacuums and Bose speakers, you can just walk right into Target or Best Buy and buy them right off the shelf.
Are you looking for companies whose products are overhyped or over priced? Either from their own doing or general market forces? For example, Bose is supposed to be an amazing speaker brand, but once you get into the audio world, it’s generally considered pretty low end junk with no bass.
Bose in particular avoids putting prices in their ads, sometimes altogether but more often by burying the purchase terms in the fine print: “Five payments of $59, conveniently billed to your credit card” etc. Dyson is less prone to doing this but also has a much smaller direct-sales channel.
Exactly. I’m trying to remember the other two or three companies known for bombastically advertising their products everywhere and usually claiming to be the pinnacle of engineering in the field, but appear to spend ten times as much on marketing as on any actual R&D. Oreck used to do this but I haven’t seen any of their ads lately; maybe they decided to sell on actual quality and value.
Often the price isn’t hidden, but they make a claim that broadly covers the product line while saying “you can get this for as low as…”. You soon find yourself spending twice as much as the quoted price because you have to move up several tiers to get the majority of the features mentioned.
Autos used to do this a lot, computers do it often now. Many high-end audio products run this bait & switch. Major appliances are also famous for trying to move you up to the next model.
I once went on a tour of the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta. They have a large building, devoted to the history of coke. Other companies might have illustrated their prowess in manufacturing or R&D or technology, but the only thing that the Coca-Cola company showed was marketing. 5 full floors of marketing history, including movie tie-ins, their hijacking of Santa Claus, and promotion in the 3rd-world.
They are clearly the leader of all marketing-driven companies.
Re Bose and Dyson the demographic they sell to seem to be very satisfied with the price performance ratio.
Bose sells convenience pre-tweaked packages to non-audiophiles (often older folks) that are reasonably well built and usually require a minimum of fuss to set up. While this is not an audio gearheads wet dream they deliver what they promise.
Dyson users are (in general) very satisfied with the performance of their machines relative to the price they paid.
Both companies are marketing powerhouses that position their goods as premium products. Yes, you could scramble around and find a competitor that delivers they same level of performance for a bit less, but there is not enough difference in most peoples minds to support the notion that they are being ripped off.
In addition there is (for both) a deep and powerful and responsive service backup to the product. This is not true for all competitors with better pricing. Dyson and Bose are not good examples of companies misleading or ripping people off.
Good for them. They’ve created a hell of a brand with excellent advertising and distribution channels, and most of their customers are proud to be Coke drinkers.
The huge building dedicated to their history is a museum, not their HQ, by the way. It’s a great way to kill a couple of hours.
How about Rainbow Vaccuums? My mom had a sales demonstration once, when the guy kept avoiding exactly how much it would cost, my dad showed him the door.