Does Celebrity Matter on ModernHomeTheater.com?

[kennyt]

You were talking about branding in another thread, Bose has built one hell of a brand name for themselves despite deplorable sound. I personally am appalled at systems like that! I have a colleague who’s home has been in several HT mags, his house is gorgeous, but he’s using a mid level Sony receiver for his main HT. It depresses me, show me a cool room and stock it with GOOD HT gear and I am impressed. Hell, give me an empty room and put solid gear in it and I would be more impressed!

[MoosePond]

Originally Posted by kennyt

You were talking about branding in another thread, Bose has built one hell of a brand name for themselves despite deplorable sound. I personally am appalled at systems like that! I have a colleague who’s home has been in several HT mags, his house is gorgeous, but he’s using a mid level Sony receiver for his main HT. It depresses me, show me a cool room and stock it with GOOD HT gear and I am impressed. Hell, give me an empty room and put solid gear in it and I would be more impressed!

yeah, but have you ever encountered someone who owns a Bose system (particularly if it's Lifestyle or 3-2-1) who doesn't think that they own "high end"? Simply amazing but kudos to them for being the best marketers in our industry (even better than Noel Lee) and for, at least, having better-than-average build quality - their field failure rate of all products for their entire 40-year history is somewhere down around 1%, largely because they instituted AQL standards for their QA programs over 35 years ago (a necessity for their military biz) - long before most manufacturers had even heard of them!

[kennyt]

I know what you mean, when peole find out I'm big into HT, one of the first questions I get is something like...

"You must have a really nice system, do you have Bose?"

It drives me nuts but proves how good their marketing is, most people don't even know the brands I use.

[JerryDelColliano]

Originally Posted by MoosePond

yeah, but have you ever encountered someone who owns a Bose system (particularly if it's Lifestyle or 3-2-1) who doesn't think that they own "high end"? Simply amazing but kudos to them for being the best marketers in our industry (even better than Noel Lee) and for, at least, having better-than-average build quality - their field failure rate of all products for their entire 40-year history is somewhere down around 1%, largely because they instituted AQL standards for their QA programs over 35 years ago (a necessity for their military biz) - long before most manufacturers had even heard of them!

Note: both Monster and Bose do not support the high end industry with ads. Perhaps this is why the high end guys support others.

Personally, I find it foolish to multi-channel market without the enthusiasts and early adopters. Clearly the blu-ray and HD DVD camps see the power of the enthusiast as HE is the embasador to technology for his more mainstream friends. It is that much easier to sell to football fans (Monster Stadium - that people think is for online jobs) or Bose's sales channels that include newspaper ads, infomercials, Circuit City, outlet malls and beyond?

Their sales argue that I don't know what I am talking about so at that level I will take my licks but for the life of me I can understand a) why Bose doesn't backwards engineer better product and b) market to the influence makers. For Monster, I have NO problems with their products. I just wish they supported the high end where they came from with more than a drive in Noel's Lamborghini.

[MoosePond]

Originally Posted by JerryDelColliano

Their sales argue that I don't know what I am talking about so at that level I will take my licks but for the life of me I can understand a) why Bose doesn't backwards engineer better product and b) market to the influence makers. For Monster, I have NO problems with their products. I just wish they supported the high end where they came from with more than a drive in Noel's Lamborghini.

The sad truth is that only 3 people from our industry made the Forbes 400 list this year: Amar Bose, Dick Schulze (Best Buy) & Ray Dolby (Dolby Labs), successful as they both are, neither Sidney Harman nor Noel Lee qualified! To answer your questions (at least, IMHO):
1. Dr. Bose (and his extremely large, mostly MIT-trained engineering staff) firmly believe in the design concepts behind their products and honestly feel that they've designed the best possible solutions for the majority of consumers.
2. They long ago abandoned the influence makers (too much chance for a bad review - publish a negative review of a Bose product and you'll soon hear from their attorneys) and, instead, focus all of their considerable marketing might keeping their "message" in front of the great unwashed (they still re-invest something like 15% of their gross revenues into marketing, a valuable lesson Dr. Bose learned early on which has greatly contributed to their ongoing success).

[deacongreg]

Originally Posted by kennyt

I doubt it, working for that clientel is not easy...

No doubt about the clientele, and I was half joking, but on a serious note, when trust and honesty are built into a relationship, which I`m sure there is with your friend, you would get favor from your friend, or other people you deal with in a wise manner. And then your expertise in HT, can shine through.
Thats all I was trying to say. Then, the G5, Lear, we`ll see.

And you definitely sem like a man of wisdom, to me. You can talk yourself into anything dealing with equipment.