The Internet, Hilton & McDonalds

[August1991]

I have been wondering about this for some time. So, I start this thread and throw this question out as an unscientific survey.

Travel is like widescreen TVs or laptops. TVs, laptops, travel used to be expensive, now they're cheap. In 1900 or even 1970, few North Americans went to Asia or Europe. Nowadays, Quebec retirees with good pensions travel once or twice a year to another continent. (I recently sat beside many on a flight from Paris.) For the record, I have travelled alot, more when I was younger. (Now frankly, I would prefer to stay in one place.)

So, here's my thought/question: Franchises, brand names, and some corporations, exist to identify a product/service. If you travel, and you're in a foreign place, McDonalds or Holiday Inn mean that you know what you will receive.

With the Internet however, people can easily verify the quality of a hotel (for example) through comment forums. So, I wonder. Will the Internet kill logos/brand names?

---

If I were in the hotel business, I would be afraid of this already. Small, no-name boutique hotels can establish a reputation on the Internet. They don't need a brand name. Even now, I book hotel rooms based on Internet reviews, not name brands.

But this can continue to other service industries. People stop at Tim Hortons or Starbucks because they see the name/logo, and know what they will get. What will happen when their phone/car will tell them about nearby, independent coffee shops?

----

Naomi Klein wrote a book, No Logo. In Klein's world, there are only victims and bullies, and the corporations are "brand bullies". IOW, brands and logos bully/exploit victims. IMV, Klein is a zero-sum thinker: You rip people off, or you get ripped off. (I reckon that Klein wanted to be in the ripping off class, while pretending to be in the ripped off class. Whatever.)

No Logo? What if the Internet makes logos/brands otiose?

Edited November 12, 2011 by August1991

[cybercoma]

It's certainly possible, but you're assuming that people only care about value and quality of service/products. Companies now offer more than that. They brand lifestyle and culture. Apple, Starbucks, Nike, McDonald's, Coke even Walmart are not selling products. They're selling an image. So, while I see your point, companies have adapted to this already, imo.

[Guest American Woman]

No Logo? What if the Internet makes logos/brands otiose?

I don't think that's going to happen. For one thing, chains, corporations, can offer things that a single, local business can't - such as earning discounts, coupons, and free stays anywhere in the world by using their 'product.' Also, if I'm unhappy with a stay at a major hotel, I can complain to the management even after I return home and expect better results than I would from a complaint to a local business half way around the world.

As to reading about restaurants/hotels/etc online, I've read reviews and sometimes wonder if the people are even talking about the same place I went to. In other words, opinions vary so much - and vary according to nationality and economics and expectations. We don't know where the people who make the reviews are coming from in that regard, so it's still more 'iffy' to go by the internet than it is to "know what to expect from a logo."

I do think there's a market for both the internet and "logos," though - they both offer something different, and I make use of both when I travel.