The iPad defines what’s really new in brand-building

What’s new? I mean really new.
This is the million (billion?) dollar question any company thinking of launching a brand should ask. This is not by any means a new notion. Brand success has always rested on the ability to deliver something different and ensure this difference is something people care about. But, these days, with the swift current of “new” products, the real winners are those who redefine their categories.
It’s not being the first to market that counts, but the first to deliver an authentic game changer. For example in my recent column in Forbes.com, I write about the iPad. Not simply a new product, Apple introduced something that never existed before. Hold it in your hands, rest it on your knees in bed, catch up with e-mail, movies, TV shows, the latest games, magazines, newspapers, etcetera, etcetera. Every experience seems closer, more intimate, almost magical. What’s new? The iPad is new, really new. I invite you to take a look at my column and find out what “new”, really new, really means.