Mmm, but the strategy isn't to bring something
new per se. Cooler master wants to be one of those brands that is your whole desk. For every single thing to do with your PC and everything to do with everything to do with your PC, they want to be able to sell people something suitable with their name on it. If they could put out mobos and ram, they probably would. At one point "Cooler Master" meant "cases and coolers" but in today's market the actual product family associated with the brand seems almost arbitrary. It's there to sell you on an aesthetic - they all have their own slight spin. They're selling you on a full solution for all of your "PC/gaming lifestyle" needs.
This is something I think they hinted at sometime last year. I remember a few people talking about it here, when they put out gaming displays. The quip in the article basically laid out their plan to be a one-stop brand. They really wanted to push this "CM" offshot, where they put all of the stuff they're not known for, or whatever specialized products they want to do runs of.
CM isn't even that bad compared to others. Right now, the strongest example of this strategy at work is probably Asus, who makes everything but RAM. I mean, they've got mobos, gpus, mice, keyboards, RGB stuff, liquid and air cooling, external HDD's, external blu-ray drives, PSUs, monitors, mousepads, modems, servers, laptops, phones, cases, webcams, projectors, headsets, backpacks, watches, ... I'm just waiting for them to come out with an ROG Strix printer. I'm sure that would fit right into their software suite (another way they tie you in.)
And I mean, they are the masters of marking stuff up that's not even that special. I say this as someone who'd generally liked the Asus products I've used. They play this game like nobody else. Others will want a piece of that whenever they see how it goes for thier competition. They're obliged to do the same, because if they don't have those products, they could lose more than just the money they aren't making not selling those products. There's definitely a game to play there. It's like "Oh yay, they make those coolers that are pretty good and cheap." versus "They make all sorts of cool stuff that I use." Some might pass up the former entirely, assuming the latter can compete in the former's main arena.
It's not the worst strategy. You or I are gonna see it for what it is... when you get further into this stuff, you realize you can't spend extra on YET MORE PARTS to have a badge when the equivalent OEM product is way less. I.E. "Why do I need a CM branded fan hub?" But to someone else, they may be saying to themselves that they already have some CM parts/accessories and happen to need a hub... maybe even to go with other products they're buying with it. If they have confidence in the CM brand they may buy the hub even knowing it's a little bit higher price, just because there is that solidarity from previous purchases playing on the perception of them doing everything. Chances are if their favorite vendor has the fans, it has the hub. It's an easy, quick decision. Perhaps seen as safer or simpler that way... especially for the more 'casual' builder who may not be or even want to be on the hobby side much, and who doesn't wanna dig around or figure out if it'll work. If it's a familiar brand and the reviews are good they go with what they know. And due to proliferation, the probability of "right place, right time" circumstances is high enough to bring it out of nowhere without anyone questioning it too much.
It certainly seems to be effective, if prevalence over time is any indication (and it has really gotten big with the bigger brands these days.) It basically allows them to move good volume of inexpensive products at a favorable markup, while also expanding brand visibility and if the products aren't total crap, bolstering confidence. They have the sway to do this - being major brands, they can put this stuff right in the pool and it's a guaranteed sell. Logistics are easy... it's all there to be used already. Doesn't even matter if it's truly competitive in performance or price. If it looks okay and it isn't bottom-shelf cheapcrap, it really only benefits them. I doubt it's expected that these particular products will be taken seriously. It's the core products' jobs to distinguish them. On one hand, it doesn't need to stand out for people to buy it, as they buy it because they know the name and associate good things with it, along with the "it's there" factor. On the other hand, it's not something strongly associated with the heart of what they do, so if it's kinda chintzy or flat out sucks, it doesn't affect the core of the company. It's just kinda keeping them out there between the big buys that people only make every so often. "Another reason to buy [brand.]"
Seems like a little thing, but big picture for them it potentially counts for a lot with little investment. More than anything, they're selling people on the idea that CM can cover all of their needs. They do it piece by piece. You start with a cooler and a case. But before you know it you have CM everything and to an extent, it sort of becomes embedded in your way of operating. When you think of "gaming" or "PC-building" they want your first thought to be "Cooler Master". And in that context, something like a CM fan hub becomes just one more way to amplify that perception.
All that aside, this isn't even that off-brand for them. I agree, it seems useless. But I'm hardly surprised that a company heavily involved in cooling solutions would have one, or even several.
Now that I've read this back it is bringing me down and making me cynical.
All of this marketing stuff tastes like cereal made with printer paper and Elmer's glue.
It's really just capitalism I guess - they're gonna do what furthers their growth and security in a market cluster that can sometimes flip around wildly and affect sales on key products. It'd almost be reckless for some of them not to. It's not always enough to have just the one or two things people know and come to you for, even if you're the best at what you do. Doing everything leaves wiggle for fluctuations in their main gigs. Good for them, meaningless for us. I don't really want to see a saturation of redundant products. It's not bringing consumers any real value. And then the fucked up thing is, somebody sees CM selling the same product successfully for more profit, they're gonna try to do the same. What people are willing to pay steadily goes up when people start buying the more expensive big-brand copy. And then they still can't replicate the recognition component, so it could conceivably eat your more reasonable options.
But I understand why they do it. It COULD benefit you, in a more abstract way... like, people buying those helps compensate for risks where they count and may allow them to invest more in the products they're known for, of which may be valuable to you. So maybe they're not for you, but depending on the company, they could make the products that ARE for you a little better. Or they could stretch themselves thin and everything is just bad. *shrugs*
