Private Brands vs. National Brands which ones better?

Presidents Choice vs. Brand Name

When it comes down to private brands vs. national brands which one is better?

In my personal opinion is private brands are better, for some things at least. I personally love President’s choice products over the national brands. I love the variety of products that they sell and how delicious their recipes are.

On the other hand, there are some brands that you can’t buy the private label for, vs. the national label. For example; Heinz Ketchup and Miracle Whip Mayonnaise. In most cases national brands are better than private label, but in the case of presidents choice, it takes the cake.

Starbucks Brand Story

Starbucks has an interesting brand story. Howard Schultz created Starbucks in 1981. When Starbucks first opened it only had one location, in Seattle’s pike place market. Starbucks offered world renowned, fresh coffee. Starbucks got its name after Moby Dick.

The Starbucks of today was transformed because of Schultz travelling to Italy and seeing the experience at Italian coffee bars. He wanted to bring that “third place” atmosphere back to America. A third place means another place other than home or work to spend the majority of your time.

Starbucks is a different company than most because it cares about their employees, it cares about the quality of the coffee and it cares about everyone’s experience in the coffee house. Starbucks prides itself on its third place atmosphere by providing comfy chairs and couches, lots of tables, wireless internet, soft music, magazines and newspapers and friendly employees to help brighten up the customers day.

Dora the explorer.. 2.0

I know that this has been around for a while, but Dora the explorer has gotten a makeover. Sure, it was longtime coming, she did have to grow up but some people find her makeover offensive.

Dora 1.0 was average looking, she had a short bob cut, a pink tee-shirt, a backpack, shorts and a pair of running shoes. Dora 2.0 is much older looking, she looks about 12-13.. and is way more stylish. She is wearing leggings, flat shoes and a tunic shirt. She also has long hair and appears to be wearing minimal makeup.

The audience for Dora is young children ages 3-9. Dora 2.0 looks like she is around 12-13 years old.

Why change the brand character when the audience stays the same?

Brand Loyalty.. Blackberry Torch vs. iPhone4

Today I will be talking about brand loyalty. not just anyones brand loyalty, but MY brand loyalty, to APPLE.

I am a current user of a blackberry. and I love it. Well, the blackberry brand that is. As for my phone, well it has its own issues.

I have been having a lot of problems with it lately.. it has been running slow, dropping calls, low reception and turning off for no apparent reason. So, I have been thinking about getting a new phone.

I am torn between two choices.. the new blackberry Torch or the iPhone 4.

Both phones have been around for about two-three months in Canada and both have a lot of hype around them.

I have a few things to consider.. they both do the same thing essentially. They both have touch screens, they both run on 4G networks, they both have high-speed data and internet usage and they are both offered with my service provider. They are both relatively attractive looking, with a sleek design and black exterior. The main difference between the two is the blackberry torch has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. also the iPhone 4 has a video calling service..called facetime.

Both are features that I love. I am a avid apple user. In the past three years I have had a macbook pro, an iPod touch, an iPod nano, an iPod shuffle and now a Macbook. It is true that once you go mac, you can't go back.. but I just can't seem to find the right fit for my mobile phone.

Do I want to continue my brand loyalty to apple and get an iPhone or do I want to stay with my beloved blackberry?

Stay tuned!