Building brand value through technical instruction - a case study in the use of a qualitative analysis method.

The instruction manual is the primary document that enables inexperienced users to understand and operate unfamiliar technological products. This paper proposes that the manual is also a significant brand document and therefore part of the producer’s communication with the new user. In practice, most current producers and suppliers of high technology consumer goods continue to ignore the user manual’s brand communication potential. The manual has developed a reputation for unacceptably low levels of user comprehension and engagement and document retention.

Previous analytical methods for graphic instructions are inadequate to verify these deficiencies. They are limited through empirical methodology, restricted contexts and artificial analysis conditions. The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate a qualitative analysis method based on broader graphic communication criteria. In application of this method, a case study of pre- and post-purchase brand documents will be analyzed and general principles drawn which both reinforce the importance of the user manual in the continuity of brand communication and demonstrate the validity of a qualitative methodology in identifying this.