Branding Solutions - Accuprosys

1. Seven Deadly Kinds of Branding Failures Know branding mistakes before you make them! Accuprosys.com

2. It’s established – brands do commit suicide or are killed. • When the sales of a product are flagging, it’s not the product but the brand that is failing. • So many brands meet an untimely death, often on an embarrassing note for the companies. Just google “epic brand failures of all time” and you’ll see why. Accuprosys.com

3. Every branding failure gives you something to learn from. In his illuminating book, Brand Failures, Matt Haig gathered some really big branding failures of the century and categorized them into eight types. Accuprosys.com

4. 1. Idea Failures • Sometimes brands fail simply because of a bad idea or an improperly thought out/not well-researched idea. • Like Pepsi AM for instance. Accuprosys.com

5. Pepsi found out that there are many consumers who drank colas for breakfast. • Without comprehensive market research, Pepsi assumed that it has unearthed an unexploited consumer base that drank caffeinated cola for breakfast instead of coffee. • That gave Pepsi an idea – a rather BAD IDEA. Accuprosys.com

6. What Pepsi didn’t know was that although some consumers drank Pepsi in the morning, there was no special demand for a breakfast sub-brand. Customers simply didn’t think they needed it. Accuprosys.com

7. If a consumer doesn’t know he has a need, it’s hard to offer a solution. Robert M. McMath Brand expert and writer Accuprosys.com

8. Pepsi learnt it the hard way. Accuprosys.com

9. 2. Extension Failures the “addition of a new product to an already established line of products under the same name” Extension Often, companies try to leverage the reputation of their already well established brand name to sell a different product. Accuprosys.com

10. For instance: Pond’s toothpaste Coca-Cola’s diet coke Accuprosys.com

11. It’s not necessary that the success of one product would guarantee the success of another. Learn this from Harley Davidson. Accuprosys.com

12. The powerful motorcycle brand thought that if so many people loved its motorcycles despite its flaws, they will also love its perfumes. It launched a perfume range that gave it the sweet smell of failure! Accuprosys.com

13. It’s hard for customers to accept a completely different kind of product under an already popular brand name. The brand failed and the perfumes simply had no takers. Ponds toothpaste is yet another example. Accuprosys.com

14. If you have a powerful perception for one class of product, it becomes almost impossible to extend that perception to a different class. Al Ries Marketing writer Accuprosys.com

15. The sooner businesses realize this, the better! Accuprosys.com

16. 3. PR Failures • It is taken that brands will face at least one crisis during their run. • Companies need to be ready with the right PR strategy and the right answers if at all their product or brand gets negative media attention. • While some companies manage such crises gracefully, others simply make matters worse. Accuprosys.com

17. Gerber, a German manufacturer of baby food had a PR debacle in 1986. Accuprosys.com

18. Its lack of public response gave it a bad name. Glass shreds were found in its products and rather than recalling the products and apologizing, it chose to stay tightlipped about it. By refusing to talk, the company projected the image that it had something to hide. Accuprosys.com

19. In these days of active communication and social media transparency, companies need to take responsibility for their products and strengthen their PR. Not doing so will only spell doom not only for the brand but also the company. Accuprosys.com

20. 4. Culture Failures • In this era of globalization, it isn’t necessary that what works in one culture will do so in another. • Brands need to cater to the requirements of each market they enter. Accuprosys.com

21. Accuprosys.com

22. Kellogg’s is the most consumed cereal brand across the world. The company reached an all-time peak in 1980s in the US, with a 40% stake in the ready-to-eat market. • With increasing competition, Kellogg’s sought expansion beyond its traditional US and European markets. Accuprosys.com

23. With increasing competition, Kellogg’s sought expansion beyond its traditional US and European markets. • It soon decided that India is a suitable market and launched its subbrand Cornflakes with a US $65 million investment. Accuprosys.com

24. But in India, breakfast cereal was an entirely new concept. VS. Accuprosys.com

25. Moreover, the product was pretty expensive for Indian consumers when compared to homemade breakfast. • Unwilling to accept failure, the company launched other products tailored to suit indigenous tastes. • It has ever since had a tough ride in India. Accuprosys.com

26. 5. People Failures • Planet Hollywood, a hotel venture, was a unique brand with a grand launch. Accuprosys.com

27. It is one of the most famous celebrity backed ventures with high profile investors Accuprosys.com

28. Within a decade of its launch, the brand was a failure. What went wrong? Soon after its launch, it opened 80 restaurants around the world and dreamt of having 300 branches by 2003. However, the company went bankrupt in 1999. Accuprosys.com

29. The Company’s Faults • It was expanding too quickly • It was launching new branches even before the already existing ones started making profits • It didn’t advertise its food and was rather banking on the celebrity status of its investors • It didn’t tie its theme to its core product and simply relied on celebrity Accuprosys.com

30. Other such brand failures include Fashion Café, Ratner’s and Hear’Say. Accuprosys.com

31. 6. Rebranding Failures • British Airways is one of the biggest rebranding failures. • It started an expensive rebranding strategy in 1996. • Soon afterwards it announced its cost-saving redundancies that contrasted with its costly makeover and rebranding. Accuprosys.com

32. It redid the tail-fins of its airlines, abandoning the Union Jack colors to give it a more international identity. • The fact that the “British” airways didn’t look “British” anymore did not go well with customers! Accuprosys.com

33. 7. Internet and New Technology Failures • A glitch was discovered in Intel’s Pentium Chip by a mathematics professor. • This news spread like wildfire but Intel denied that its chips had a problem. Accuprosys.com

34. Only after IBM declared that it will not use Intel chips that Intel agreed to replace the chips. It did not take responsibility for the chips and refused to replace affected ones. The issue magnified and the share value of Intel dropped by more than 20 points! Accuprosys.com

35. Intel’s inappropriate response (or the lack of it) to online criticism marred its online reputation. Accuprosys.com

36. It is imperative for companies to respond quickly, acknowledge online criticism, and monitor critics if they wish to maintain the reputation of their brand. Accuprosys.com

37. Centre for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipC-4, IIT-H Foundation, Gachibowli, Hyderabad9618402751, 9000600247 Reach us at:prabha@accuprosys.com simplify@accuprosys.comanuradha@accuprosys.comFor more details, please visit: www.accuprosys.com Accuprosys.com