The Power of Nokia’s Brand (Philippines Series)

Julie Ask | January 16, 2008, 01:02 PM

I was wandering around a small market in a town about 90 minutes outside of Manila. One of the small stalls was selling candy shaped like cell phones. (I think “sugar globs” were just called “Dots” when I was young and that seemed to be enough to sell us on the idea of eating coated balls of sugar).

Candy Cell Phones

In any case, it wasn’t just that the sugar dots were organized to look like buttons on a cell phone. This company even took the liberty of using the Nokia name to help sell the candy – as if a cell phone weren’t enough.

Nokia Branding on the Cell Phones

Certainly the majority of people I saw there with cell phones had Nokia cell phones –easily the most popular brand. I found it interesting though that they were even borrowing the brand to sell candy – likely not the way Nokia would like to have their brand used, but still it speaks to the power of their brand globally.

And …. there wasn’t JUST one type of cell phone candy at the market – there were two types. No idea of what this red stuff is, but it reminded me of some kind of bean paste.

“Bean Paste” Cell Phone Candy