Let’s assume for a moment something that Bryant raises doubts about: that Beta is a strategy with a customer in mind. Some companies—not necessarily Google—might be asking, “Can we get to market earlier with something that isn’t quite finished, and ease customers into the desired experience over time?” This does have the advantage of inviting customer input into the importance or execution of certain features on the road to finalizing the product—and God knows, that process is too frequently a crapshoot for too many marketers.
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But this approach might also eventually lower, or at least start to change, the market’s overall expectation of product quality. You no longer have to wait until the model walks out onto the runway in all her stunning beauty. Now you can hang with her back in the dressing room and watch her getting her make-up done. And depending on the product category and the sophistication of the audience, that might be cool.
It’s less polished, less formal, more populist. And those aren’t necessarily bad things. But it also carries the risk of watering down the “promise of performance” that underpins a brand. The emerging philosophy seems to be, “Here, try this out. Maybe you’ll dig it. Tell us what you think. But we’re not making any promises about what it is ultimately going to be—or when.”
And in an even wider context, that seems to fit quite well with our times. All promises are tentative, and when they’re broken, don’t be too disappointed.
-PR
