Brand Failures
Brand Failures Brand Failures
86 Brand failures that it has neglected its scientific origins. For instance, in his book Big Brands, Big Trouble, Jack Trout makes the following observation: First and foremost, Crest should always be on the serious, therapeutic side of the toothpaste market. That’s where they are in the minds of their prospects. No mouthwash, no whitening, only serious tooth care technology. The natural evolution of Crest would be to move from ‘cavity prevention’ to becoming the ‘pioneer in tooth care’. Unfortunately, they never quite saw this as a way to go. They continued to tinker with different forms of Crest. The fact that Procter & Gamble hasn’t always been focusing on tooth decay has meant that it has inevitably suffered from something even worse: brand decay. Unless the company can once again take control of the scientific high ground and provide consumers with a single, consistent message (assisted with a tightly-focused range), Colgate will have won the battle by more than the skin of its teeth. Lessons from Crest Don’t confuse the customer. Procter & Gamble now realize that simplicity is the key to reassuring shoppers. ‘It’s mind-boggling how difficult we’ve made it for them over the years,’ admitted Procter & Gamble’s president Durk I Jager to Business Week magazine. Don’t offer too many products. Just 7.6 per cent of all personal care and household products account for 84.5 per cent of sales, according to research by the consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates. The same research discovered that almost a quarter of the products in a typical supermarket sell fewer than one unit a month. Remove product duplicates. Another study, published by William Bishop Consulting, found that when duplicative items were removed, 80 per cent of consumers saw no difference. Be transparent. Brands should aim for ‘transparency’. In other words, they should make the choice on offer completely clear. Remember your heritage. ‘Never lose your corporate memory,’ advises Jack Trout in Big Brands, Big Trouble. Crest suffered from brand amnesia by failing to replicate the success of its ‘Triumph Over Tartar’ campaign of the 1950s.
Extension failures 87 24 Heinz All Natural Cleaning Vinegar Confusing the customer Heinz’s All Natural Cleaning Vinegar was the food-maker’s first non-food item. The company, which had been founded by Henry Heinz in 1869, had made its name selling its ‘57 Varieties’ – good value, pre-packaged food such as baked beans, soup and ketchup – and decided in the 1980s to extend its brand into other household goods. First off the mark was the All Natural Cleaning Vinegar, an eco-friendly, all-purpose vinegar carrying a red symbol with the words ‘Heloise’s Most Helpful Hint’. Heloise is the US newspaper columnist responsible for the ‘Hints from Heloise’ column, which is syndicated across the globe. It was a logical endorsement as Heloise had long been an advocate of the various and miraculous uses of vinegar – as a rust remover, deodorizer, window cleaner, ant detergent, weed killer and defroster. In addition to this support, the product also received a substantial amount of positive PR from the press, which had picked up on the green angle of the product. None of this mattered though. The product was a complete flop and never appeared beyond the United States. When marketing commentators attempted to explain why the vinegar had failed to take off, they blamed the ‘alternative’ perception of the new product. In her 1998 book, Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation Jacquelyn Ottman uses the case of the Heinz All Natural Cleaning Vinegar to illustrate the changing market attitudes towards environmentally-friendly products:
- Page 44 and 45: 36 Brand failures up with the idea
- Page 46 and 47: 38 Brand failures Factor two: cool
- Page 48 and 49: 40 Brand failures 6 Sony’s Godzil
- Page 50 and 51: 42 Brand failures the possible exce
- Page 52 and 53: 44 Brand failures 7 Persil Power On
- Page 54 and 55: 46 Brand failures But the advantage
- Page 56 and 57: 48 Brand failures easily, Pepsi rem
- Page 58 and 59: 50 Brand failures 9 Earring Magic K
- Page 60 and 61: 52 Brand failures Lesson from Earri
- Page 62 and 63: 54 Brand failures on it,’ wrote B
- Page 64 and 65: 56 Brand failures Clearly if Corfam
- Page 66 and 67: 58 Brand failures been officially r
- Page 68 and 69: 60 Brand failures ‘There are risk
- Page 70 and 71: 62 Brand failures 13 Oranjolt The d
- Page 72 and 73: 64 Brand failures 14 La Femme Where
- Page 74 and 75: 66 Brand failures patronizing. This
- Page 76 and 77: 16 Clairol’s ‘Touch of Yoghurt
- Page 78 and 79: 18 Maxwell House ready-to-drink cof
- Page 80 and 81: 20 Thirsty Cat! and Thirsty Dog! Bo
- Page 83 and 84: Barron’s Dictionary of Business T
- Page 85 and 86: Extension failures 77 21 Harley Dav
- Page 87 and 88: Extension failures 79 making up the
- Page 89 and 90: Extension failures 81 Keep it tigh
- Page 91 and 92: 23 Crest Stretching a brand to its
- Page 93: Extension failures 85 ‘No toothpa
- Page 97 and 98: Extension failures 89 Lessons from
- Page 99 and 100: Extension failures 91 the no-nonsen
- Page 101 and 102: Extension failures 93 Have a core
- Page 103 and 104: Extension failures 95 In the mid-19
- Page 105 and 106: Extension failures 97 every brand -
- Page 107 and 108: Extension failures 99 sales rose to
- Page 109 and 110: Extension failures 101 However, amo
- Page 111 and 112: Extension failures 103 29 Chiquita
- Page 113 and 114: Extension failures 105 A brand is
- Page 115 and 116: 31 Ben-Gay Aspirin Ben-Gay is anoth
- Page 117 and 118: 33 Smith and Wesson mountain bikes
- Page 119 and 120: 35 Lynx barbershop Lever Fabergé,
- Page 121 and 122: 37 LifeSavers Soda Invented in 1912
- Page 123: 39 Frito-Lay Lemonade Frito-Lay is
- Page 127 and 128: It can be expected that brands will
- Page 129 and 130: PR failures 121 40 Exxon Don’t sa
- Page 131 and 132: PR failures 123 including the clean
- Page 133 and 134: PR failures 125 environmentalists,
- Page 135 and 136: PR failures 127 the public. [. . .]
- Page 137 and 138: PR failures 129 42 Perrier’s benz
- Page 139 and 140: PR failures 131 common purpose thro
- Page 141 and 142: PR failures 133 Lesson from Pan Am
- Page 143 and 144: PR failures 135 In addition, Snow B
Extension failures 87<br />
24 Heinz All Natural<br />
Cleaning Vinegar<br />
Confusing the customer<br />
Heinz’s All Natural Cleaning Vinegar was the food-maker’s first non-food<br />
item. The company, which had been founded by Henry Heinz in 1869, had<br />
made its name selling its ‘57 Varieties’ – good value, pre-packaged food such<br />
as baked beans, soup and ketchup – and decided in the 1980s to extend its<br />
brand into other household goods.<br />
First off the mark was the All Natural Cleaning Vinegar, an eco-friendly,<br />
all-purpose vinegar carrying a red symbol with the words ‘Heloise’s Most<br />
Helpful Hint’. Heloise is the US newspaper columnist responsible for the<br />
‘Hints from Heloise’ column, which is syndicated across the globe. It was a<br />
logical endorsement as Heloise had long been an advocate of the various and<br />
miraculous uses of vinegar – as a rust remover, deodorizer, window cleaner,<br />
ant detergent, weed killer and defroster. In addition to this support, the<br />
product also received a substantial amount of positive PR from the press,<br />
which had picked up on the green angle of the product.<br />
None of this mattered though. The product was a complete flop and never<br />
appeared beyond the United States.<br />
When marketing commentators attempted to explain why the vinegar had<br />
failed to take off, they blamed the ‘alternative’ perception of the new product.<br />
In her 1998 book, Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation Jacquelyn<br />
Ottman uses the case of the Heinz All Natural Cleaning Vinegar to illustrate<br />
the changing market attitudes towards environmentally-friendly products:
Change language