October 05, 2005
Partnering affects our brands too?
Back in the day. A long, long time ago. A time we use to refer to as the "dotcom" boom (although I now realize that I should refer to that time as Web 1.0, since that Web 2.0 talk is all the rage with the hip kids these days). Back then, we had a (horrible) theory: Partner with as many fabricated companies as you can and the folks on the street will think you’re worth more money.Everyone was doing it. Partner partner partner. Similar business? Didn’t matter. Partner partner partner. Figure out the details later. Channel management? Excuse me? We didn’t have anything to sell, so there was nothing for the channel to do. A cleaner partnering strategy was hard to find.
Let’s tell everyone we’re friends, we seemed to say, and then maybe everyone will like us more. And once we’re popular, we’ll both get rich on the money they throw at us for thought-provoking ideas.
It all seemed like a such a strong house of cards until, finally, someone realized that it wasn’t the quantity of partnerships you were able to acquire, it was really the quality of partnerships you were able to acquire.
Shocking, I realize.
To put it a different way: Partnering is as critical to supporting your brand as your logo or your positioning. Your partner strategy had better support your overall brand.
Does the partnership strengthen your brand or weaken it? Does the partner further your position or take energy away from you? Does the partnership make sense to the uninitiated? If not, can you make it make sense in less than 30 seconds?
Silly me, I thought everyone had figured that out. So, imagine my surprise when everyone’s media darling, Google, pulled an old-school partnering move with Sun, this week.
Oh sure, prior to the announcement, we were all a twitter. Was it going to be the Microsoft Office killer? Was it going to be the expansion of the Google desktop. Was there a merger? Rumors were swirling. And it was fun. Just like the dotcom days.
What’s more it was great for Sun and Google. Was Sun finally being proactive? Was Google making a move to become more of a presence on the desktop. Our imaginations raced with the possibilities. And, in so racing, we spun up the respective brands in our mind. Bravo. Forward thinking. Taking on a challenger. Those young kids plus those crotchety Java-types really could have something.
But, then, you know what? Dotcom partnership. Java all over again. Ah, write once run nowhere, how my brain numbs at thee.
And unfortunately for everyone’s favorite darling, it was a hit. And when I say hit, I don’t mean in the positive sense. I mean a hit as in a blow to the ego. Or more correctly, a blow to the brand.
You see, up until this point, old "do no evil" was a rock-solid, could-do-no-wrong brand. Everybody was all googly-eyed at every mention of, err, Google. People liked them. People wanted to hear about them. People wanted to revel in their winning. Revel in those smart kids making good and raking in billions of dollars.
So when we heard Sun, we all kind of virtually looked at one another. Gave each other reassuring glances. Google doesn’t do anything small, we let one another know. This deal is really going to put them on the map. But Sun? Whine-about-the-guys-who-are-taking-our-lunch-money Sun? No worries. It’s the Google Office, I’m sure of it. It’s the Microsoft killer.
No dice.
And that, that dud, blew a small hole in Google’s armor. Not a Titanic-iceberg kind of hole, but a hole, nonetheless. It took some magic out of the Google brand, took some wind out of the collective sales. And, had it not been for all the Web 2.0 hype, this week, may have very well caused even more damage than anyone could have imagined.
Now, I’ll kind of have to second guess Google. And that makes me a little bit sad. (Especially because I'm in the midst of reading The Search by John Battelle. The saving grace here? He doesn't seem to see the magic either.) It's not that they're not allowed to make mistakes. It’s that I don’t really want to know about it. And I don’t want those mistakes to be the public kind of non-news hypefests that they were, this week.
That’s not Google. Or should I say that wasn’t Google. Now, unfortunately, we always have to assume that it is.
Were you caught up in the Google Sun hype? Has it changed your opinion of either organization? Are you super excited about the Java Google toolbar combo? I’d love to hear what you think, so please comment away. Or just sit there and wallow in it like I am, Mudville. Mighty Casey struck out.
Partnering affects our brands too?
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