TEV. True Experiential Value. I blogged about it back in April, and since then, I haven’t run across many examples of this core underpinning of today’s successful brands.
But it struck me around 10:30 p.m. Eastern last night that, since 1999, David Chase and HBO have delivered that elusive quality, and created a brand that, frankly, could live on with great vitality far longer than its creators chose to continue it. Think about it – love him or hate him, who delivered more memorable hours than Tony? Every episode delivered quality of a higher level than most anything seen, and some episodes were better than everything on broadcast or cable. Excellence of experience, delivered consistently, so much so that many viewers felt their HBO subscriptions were money well spent for just the one series! That's TEV, friends.
And for those of you who think that, in strict marketing terms, The Sopranos isn’t a brand? Drop me a note after you see the DVD sales of the complete set ... after holiday sales in 2009, almost two years after the show leaves the air!
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