branding is dead? (part …)

Undoubtedly, there are strong brands that can still command a premium. In one recent survey by Landor Associates, 99.5 percent of people said they’d be willing to pay more for a Sony. But the size of that premium is smaller than ever.
Five years ago, Sony charged 44 percent more for its DVD players than the average manufacturer. Today, Sony DVD players cost just 16 percent more than the average. And yet, even though the price of Sony’s most expensive DVD player fell 60 percent between 1999 and 2003…