"Fanboyism and Brand Loyalty"

[diogen]

The phone section would probably be the best place for this at the moment although is just as well applies in the gadget section, BD vs. HD, PC vs. Mac or any other A vs. B discussion.

Just makes you wonder how easily our brain plays tricks with us... And it isn't even digital...

Fanboyism and Brand Loyalty
by davidmcraney

The Internet changed the way people argue.
...Fanboyism isn’t anything new, it’s just a component of branding, which is something marketers and advertisers have known about since Quaker Oats created a friendly logo to go on their burlap sacks.
...When those people were told they where drinking Pepsi, a fraction of them, the ones who had enjoyed Coke all their lives, did something unexpected. The scanner showed their brains scrambling the pleasure signals, dampening them. They then told the experimenter afterward they had preferred Coke in the taste tests.
...Apple advertising, for instance, doesn’t mention how good their computers are. Instead, they give you examples of the sort of people who purchase those computers. The idea is to encourage you to say, “Yeah, I’m not some stuffy, conservative nerd. I have taste and talent and took art classes in college.”
...Sunk Cost can creep up on you too. Maybe you’ve been a subscriber to something for a long time and you realize it costs too much, but you don’t end your subscription because of all the money you’ve invested in the service so far.
...It’s purely emotional, the moment you pick. People with brain damage to their emotional centers who have been rendered into Spock-like beings of pure logic find it impossible to decide between things as simple as which cereal to buy. They stand transfixed in the aisle, contemplating every element of their potential decision – the calories, the shapes, the net weight – everything. They can’t pick because they have no emotional connection to anything, no emotional motivations.

Reminds you about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle applied to the internet and the famous discussion a few years ago on /. "Was math invented or discovered?"...

Diogen.

 

[Ramy]

I never have a special preference or brand loyalty when it comes to most things. I do like Toshiba TV's a lot, but other than that, I just pick what is best at the time.

 

[stogie5150]

You wanna have some fun, go over to HoFo and start talking bad about AT&T or Verizon....

I never knew how bad it was until I started detailing my switch from VZW to Sprint recently, how smooth it was and how much I am saving a month compared to VZW, and the VZW fanboys just can't believe that an 11 year VZW customer could be HAPPY with Sprint...

 

[Ramy]

You wanna have some fun, go over to HoFo and start talking bad about AT&T or Verizon....

I never knew how bad it was until I started detailing my switch from VZW to Sprint recently, how smooth it was and how much I am saving a month compared to VZW, and the VZW fanboys just can't believe that an 11 year VZW customer could be HAPPY with Sprint...

In my area Sprint sucks, but others may have excellent coverage in their area so for my it is always a YMMV kind of thing.

 

[Big Dawg 23]

You wanna have some fun, go over to HoFo and start talking bad about AT&T or Verizon....

I never knew how bad it was until I started detailing my switch from VZW to Sprint recently, how smooth it was and how much I am saving a month compared to VZW, and the VZW fanboys just can't believe that an 11 year VZW customer could be HAPPY with Sprint...

Yeah HOFO gets out of hand with the insults because of your decision to change. i hope Sprint goes well for you. My boss has Sprint and has nothing but the best of luck on dealing with them. Now another two coworkers had nothing but issues.

 

[Jonhern]

Yeah HOFO gets out of hand with the insults because of your decision to change. i hope Sprint goes well for you. My boss has Sprint and has nothing but the best of luck on dealing with them. Now another two coworkers had nothing but issues.

I have been with sprint for over 6 years and they have been good. And because of that I am sprint premier and can upgrade my phone with new customer pricing every year which is great, just got the evo for the new customer price even though my contract ended in November, new two year contract, but i like the service and love the new phone so not an issue. Also when i did have a lot of issues with 3g around here for a couple of weeks earlier this year they gave me a credit of $30, the CSR screwed up so i called back the next month since it was not showing up on the bill and the next csr put it through right away plus i got an email from the supervisor the next day and they added another $25 for the mistake, so a $55 dollar credit. My dad and family have Verizon and i usually deal with them for him since he really does not understand everything about the phones and plans, kinding confusing since there is a blackberry and some have internet and some don't, and i am sure they would never do something like that. Plus with any mobile any time most people are probably fine with the lowest plan since it is almost impossible to go over, I have the 450 everything plan and last month I used over 800 mins not including night and weekends which start at 7pm, less than 300 where anytime minutes, the rest were any mobile anytime.