September 17th, 2007 | tomasu |

Monday, September 17, 2007

today i really got into this interview with David Gensler (KDU) by Inquiringmind.

Inqmnd: Anyone in this industry can’t beg to differ that brands have a lot of influence over today’s generation…

David: It’s a rough thing when companies just chase the (profit) margin and nothing else. We just launched a 2000+ word mini thesis in BPM magazine on value constructs in our culture. Our culture is based on self-controlled initiated supply and demand scenarios, where we are making it and buying it ourselves; it’s a downward spiral leading to disaster. We’ve allowed us to dupe ourselves. Let’s say with certain sneakers, the total cost of the shoe is way under $20, are you really willing to pay $200 for something that really costs less than $20 to make? It’s like we all go to McDonald’s, and all of a sudden Big Macs are $50 bucks because Jay Z ate a Big Mac. It is just a hamburger and ultimately it’s just a sneaker. With youth culture, since we’re so connected and educated, we need to start asking questions: why are we assigning this (high) value to this brand? I can see if you buy into the heritage of legends like Futura, Stash, or Haze… guys who’ve been doing this for years, or if there is super high function or extreme materials used… otherwise, it is just a shoe. This is why Nike will ultimately never be defeated because they put so much technology and innovation into the smallest detail of their products… like them or not, you can’t deny they produce superior products.

want more? check out the David and Goliath article on Inqmnd.