out on a limb: brand choices in unfamiliar product categories

06/25/2004 04:44:00 PM
These days, consumers are often thrust into purchase decisions outside of their comfort zones in unfamiliar product sub-categories. Word of mouth, first-hand experience history with a particular brand and that emotional, gut sense of what a brand means are all crucial.
A Parks Associates study reported that over 70 percent of broadband households likely to purchase a media server preferred traditional consumer electronics brands over PC companies. More than half picked Sony. There's a feeling of safety in choosing a Sony 'entertainment' product even if they truly trust Dell or HP with the chips and electronics inside the product. The Sony brand means to the consumer what they want the product to enable him or her to do: see, hear, play. The parallel meanings provide comfort in a new and intimidating category purchase decision, a link to a string of past, more familiar entertainment product choices.
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