Brand Failures

Brands, like people, have a fear of the ageing process. They don’t want to grow
old, because growing old means growing stale and once a brand has become
old and stale it is as good as dead.
So how do brands delay the ageing process Like people in the same
situation, brands facing their mid-life crisis resort to drastic measures in order
to stay young and relevant. Typical methods include changing their name,
changing their overall look and even changing their brand ‘philosophy’. In
order not to become old and tired, many companies embark on rebranding
exercises to make themselves look more up-to-date and relevant to their target
market.
Another reason to rebrand products is to make them fit with a global
identity. For instance, in the UK Mars rebranded Opal Fruits and Marathon
so that they had the same names as in the rest of the world. Hence they were
changed to Starburst and Snickers, respectively. Although both brand makeovers
were unpopular at the time, neither product lost out in terms of sales.
However, sometimes the decisions have to be reversed. When the chocolate
covered rice cereal Coco Pops had its name changed to Choco Krispies, a
national poll discovered 92 per cent of Britons were unhappy about the
change. Coco Pops returned and did better than ever.
Yet while the risks are great, rebranding remains more popular than ever.
In the United States there are now around 3,000 company name changes
every year. In 1990, the figure was closer to 1,000. The need to stay ahead
means companies are prepared to gamble away their history and heritage for
the promise of future profits.
‘Whatever made you successful in the past, won’t in the future,’ were the
wise words of Leo Platt, CEO of Hewlett Packard. If you stand still you will
fall behind, seems to be the general message. Indeed, many of the most
successful brands today retain their prominent position by evolving and
updating their identity over time.