It's funny you bring this topic up. IN my consumer behavior marketing class we were discussing the research that manufacturers do to find out if there product is in the consumers' awareness, evoked, or inert set. So as an example, the instructor asked the class to name the brands of Stereo's that we all knew (awareness set). I of course stayed quiet until people started slowing down with their suggestions (Sony, Pioneer, RCA, Bose, etc. were all mentioned). I mentioned NAD, Denon, Onkyo, Rotel, and adcom and then the instructor had me stop. I then told her that I could go on and on. After the list was compiled she asked the class to give here a list of our evoked sets (choices of stereo's that we would actually consider). Then she asked us for our inert sets (the choices of stereo's we WOULDN'T consider) I mentioned Bose, and half the class let out a gasp. Because of the class reaction, she had me explain myself. I calmly told here the any self-respecting audiophile or audiophile publication will never touch Bose speakers. I then explained how their extensive and intelligent marketing schemes (she loved this) have brainwashed the mass market to think that Bose is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I also stated that I was a former Bose owner and that Bose introduced me into the pursuit of higher fidelity, but Bose was to overpriced for the minimal quality they offer. The rest of the class had a "ya right" look on their face. Then one guy raised his hand and responded with, "I totally agree" and then the rest of the class just froze. After this, we moved on, but you could feel the tension in the room. If I couldn't drop probably everyone in the room, I probably would have been threatened. I must admit that I had a semi-snobbish attitude when I said it but I wasn't intimidated by any of my unknowledgeable classmates.
I thought it was a very funny episode. The even funnier part is that every one in the class graduates this spring or in the next year, so that means the entire class is essentially well educated, but very naive. It's funny, but at the same time, scary.
