Remember what it was like, back in the day, when you were energized by your job, passionate about changing the world, and committed to work that had a higher meaning for you?
And here you are now in a leadership role, running a better-for-you brand, perhaps one you launched.
Your brand’s success and your company’s legacy depend on having employees who are just as energized, passionate, and committed as you were when you started.
Are they? Are you, still?
Employee Engagement Is the Heart of a Solid Brand
Employee engagement is the heart of today’s most beloved brands. These category leaders aren’t just about selling product; they’re a movement, a conversation with their followers about working together to improve the world. And that conversation, a human one, needs to start with your employees. A brand’s purpose is an inside-out activity, originating with a passionate internal team charged with converting external customers.
In fact, this idea of surrounding your business with die-hard fans, both inside and outside, reflects one of Retail Voodoo’s core philosophies: True believers only.
As brands have changed, becoming standard-bearers for sustainability, compassion, community, quality, transparency — work has changed, too. Today, people no longer look to their job for just a paycheck. It’s part of their personal identity. And they want to be able to connect deeply with the company and share it with other people in their lives.
When you build a business where everyone who touches it buys in, it has huge potential to be a values-driven, disruptive play in your market. You’ll create a brand that always wins and owns an unfair share of the market because so many people are enthusiastic about it.
Help Employees Buy Into Your Mission
A purpose-driven brand will naturally attract talented employees. But it takes effort and nurturing to keep employees engaged. Leaders need to demonstrate that they care for their employees, value their contributions, appreciate their dedication. They’ll see your passion — or lack thereof — and model it.
You need to supply them with tools to stay engaged, and those tools have to be relevant and productive. Workshops and taskforces will backfire if they appear to just be busywork.
Nike — in the news lately because of its issue-driven campaign with Colin Kaepernick — is a great case study on employee engagement. Several years ago, Nike leadership came to us for help understanding why the brand’s front-line retail workers didn’t bleed Nike like corporate employees did. These part-time, hourly workers, typically teens and twentysomethings, worked at Nike stores on their way to somewhere else. Could Nike generate the same fervor in them?
As we worked to build engagement, we identified a major stumbling block: Nike’s 200-page employee handbook. No surprise, retail workers had neither the time nor the interest to digest all that corporate information. So we developed a boiled-down guide for retail staffers that defined what the brand stands for, how the products fulfill its promise, and how to explain that to shoppers.
That brief employee guide proved so successful that Nike’s HR team rolled it out throughout the organization.
5 Keys to Inspiring an Engaged Workforce
1) Keep it simple. See the Nike example above. Your purpose, mission, and vision should be so ingrained in your organization’s DNA that people just feel it. No encyclopedic handbook required.
2) Involve top leadership. Employees should see leaders materially and emotionally participating in the brand’s quest.
3) Stand for something beyond the product. People hunger for meaning in their work. Successful brands do more than sell stuff; they advance a larger mission. Generating passionate fans means you’ll sometimes earn your share of haters, too. Your leadership team may need to go out on a limb to advocate for your mission. Employees will respect that you can take a punch.
4) Be open to discussion. Leaders at every level of the organization should invite questions and contrary points of view. Listen and engage, and have a plan to channel this input in productive ways.
5) Know what your brand promises and how it keeps those promise. Enroll all your people in understanding and shaping the way the brand behaves in the real world and interacts with real customers. Give them ownership to do what they need to do in order to deliver, particularly front-line employees.
If you think the key to keeping employees happy involves ping pong tables or free donuts, think again. You have to give them reasons to believe. Not just on their first day, but every day.
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
Up until the last several years, there was a specific formula for the package design of natural and healthy food products. The target market of conscious consumers was small and looked for a very particular set of design cues to signal the niche natural food category.
However, nowadays, these brands are making healthy living more accessible to the average consumer. The claim of all-natural or organic is no longer a differentiator because it’s all over the shelves. Natural is no longer a luxury – it’s an expectation.
So, how do brands redesign their brands and packaging to stand out among these cluttered shelves of sameness? As the target market has expanded and evolved, so has the design language. These new cues speak to consumers in new, disruptive ways. For the brands not speaking this language fluently yet, it’s time to make some bold changes and reimagine the way they communicate their product’s benefits on-shelf.
Bob’s Red Mill vs. Lark Ellen Farm
Bob’s Red Mill used to scream healthy. Only the stereotypical health nuts would go straight for their bags when they saw them on-shelf. Now, it just screams outdated and makes you feel like it has been sitting on the shelves for a few months. The natural colors now feel dull and flavorless. The picture of the elderly Bob used to signify longevity, now it translates to all of the negative connotations of the word old. Instead of thinking, “Wow, if I eat this, I’ll grow to be that old someday,” people think, “Wow, only old people eat this.” Quaker Oats went through a large rebrand to make their mascot Larry appear younger for this exact same reason.
Bob’s Red Mill used to signal healthiness because it had a lot of information all in one place. The cluttered design and small text told the consumer there was a lot of health talk going on. With all those words, they must know what they’re doing – right?
For a consumer who is not naturally inclined to pick up a healthy product, this high density of information on-package can be a huge deterrent. It triggers the thought, “I don’t have the time to learn about this!” so they just grab the comfortable, unhealthy brand that doesn’t make them read or think too much. More modern natural brands have positioned themselves now to be far less overwhelming. To show their transparency and the simplicity of their ingredients, they don’t make consumers work to get the answers or information they need. It’s a reduction in information and increase in simplicity that communicates benefit and lifestyle clearly in-store.
Lark Ellen is the perfect example of this level of simplification. They have three clearly marked areas of information – the most important ones being readable from a few feet away. It also helps that it feels bright and lively while maintaining a healthy vibe. The hand-drawn ingredients contrasted with the window to the real ingredients shows whimsy and transparency. The playfulness of the illustrations is an invitation rather than a distraction.
Lay’s Natural vs. Uglies
You see the Lay’s logo, and you immediately think unhealthy. It’s hard for the brand to have any semblance of health because of its reputation for salty, fatty snacks. The illustrated farmland in the background originally signaled to any shopper it was more natural than the usual, regular old chip. Showing cues of farmers or farmland is one of the oldest tricks in the “Make This Product Look Natural” handbook. However, that’s about it. The packaging differentiated the natural product from the traditional just enough. Nowadays, health-conscious consumers skim over this package—it blends into the product line and doesn’t offer any value besides “natural-ish.”
Uglies, on the other hand, educates the consumer through creative copy and visual storytelling as to the value of the product beyond just a chip. Many natural products originally look funky and weird before they’re manicured for consumption. It used to be common practice to hide this by showing the prettiest, most perfect chip on the package, which left the concept of authenticity at the wayside. But now, there’s this celebration of ugly. That’s why this packaging works so well. It’s embracing natural for what it is and finding joy in telling that “imperfect” story. Not only that, but it also promotes the reduction of food waste and makes ugly food more appealing to the average consumer. The simple colors, unique typography, and cute illustrations work together to communicate a trial-worthy product.
Adams vs. Wild Friends
Adams—western, wild, natural. The gradations of color and old western style typography gave you a sense of nostalgia to simpler times. When this packaging was designed, the big “100% Natural” probably jumped out at customers from the shelf. Now, we just expect to see that label. Most consumers hardly even notice it.
In stark contrast to that aesthetic, Wild Friends nut butters jump from the shelf into the consumer’s cart because of the vibrant colors and friendly illustrations. It makes the customer feel youthful and playful. There’s an immediate whimsical feel when you view this packaging. Whimsy is a cue many natural brands use to help consumers understand they can feel good about what they eat while also having it taste great.
It’s uplifting – you can tell by the craft design cues that whoever makes this product feels a sense of pride in their product. Wild Friends tells their origin story upfront in a relatable way. This squirrel acts as a mascot of clean, delicious nut butters and leaves an emotional (and therefore long-lasting) impression on consumers.
Mountain House vs. Patagonia Provisions
Mountain House was one of the first brands to pioneer the category that answered the consumer need for portable, practical, and tasty backpacking food. At the time, they had a great idea. They put beautiful photos of a place anyone would love to set up a campsite, large and prominent on the front. It was all about the activity of the consumer and did not say too much about the product itself or the lifestyle associated with it.
As this category of packaged goods continues to expand to accommodate a wider audience of backpackers and people looking for more from their snacks, Patagonia has stepped up to the plate. Being a premium brand known for having a triple bottom line and a deep understanding of their consumers, Provisions was a natural brand extension for them to move into a new outdoor category: food. They come with a promise—one they don’t have to shout from the package because they use purity of color and youthfulness to communicate it. The vintage style illustrations and simple typography communicate the natural and pure elements of their food, rather than drool-worthy photos of mountains. In the case of Patagonia Provisions, if you took the Patagonia name and logo off the package, their packaging looks like a kick-starter, “the food chain needs fixing,” kind of brand. It harkens back the same feeling you get when you look at something from the Audubon society, but with more joy and celebration about the ingredients.
The natural category used to rely on complex packaging. It needed to scream “outdoors” or “natural” or “healthy” from the shelf, and need to explain itself far more than it does now. And as the natural sector has evolved, so have the design cues. Healthy and natural foods have become far more accessible to the average customer, which means the packaging must speak on that same wavelength. Simplicity translates to transparency and makes information easy to understand and find. Bright and vibrant colors evoke joyful feelings of youth and vitality. Illustrations and unique typography show how the product amplifies and enhances the consumer’s lifestyle. And finally, this concept of a celebration of natural builds an emotional bond with the consumer and feels extremely authentic. Understanding these changes and anticipating the next evolution of design will keep your brand ahead of the curve in the healthy food category.
Diana Fryc
For Diana, a fierce determination to pursue what’s right is rooted in her DNA. The daughter of parents who endured unimaginable hardship before emigrating from Eastern Europe to the U.S., she is built for a higher purpose. Starting with an experience working with Jane Goodall to source sustainably made paper, she went on to a career helping Corporate America normalize the use of environmentally responsible products and materials before coming to Retail Voodoo.
Keeping your packaging design relevant and effective in an ever-changing market can be daunting. With the pressure on, we continue to see our clients look to consumer testing to guide their next move, looking for quantifiable metrics to help guide the way. The downside is that the results you get from testing could give you false security, and even worse, push you in the wrong direction. Don’t worry, we have some tips to help you get the most out of the testing process.
Start with a validated brand strategy
Before you jump into testing, take a look at your brand strategy. Is your leadership team in alignment around your mission, with a rock-solid understanding of why you exist as a company and what you stand for? Do you have a vision for where the company needs to be in 12 months or two years? If not, you have some work to do. Testing creative without tying it back to strategy means you’re building a flawed testing environment built on instinct instead of data. When you start with strategy, you remove subjectivity from the decision-making process and you gain a tool that should be used to drive your design systems, product innovations, and inform your testing process.
With strategy in place giving you a clear diagnosis for where your brand should move next, and a new set of creative that will get you there, maybe you still feel that testing the new against the old will give you the extra push you need to take that brave leap into new territory. In that case, beware of certain risks—like a dynamically changing leadership team, or an outside ‘expert’ brought in to guide the testing process. They may come in thinking they know best, but if that expert authors the questionnaire that helps lead your existing creative to a win on paper, but doesn’t address all the failings uncovered during strategy, is that really a win? Trust your strategy, and let it guide your decisions.
Don’t only rely on consumer insights to inform your next move
Retail reality is nearly impossible to replicate. What consumers say in a testing environment will never fully reflect their behavior in the real world. They will always behave differently in a controlled environment than when they are out living their lives, naturally interacting with the brands they know and trust. And under observation, people will most often try to give you the right answer instead of the real answer—they will say what they think you want to hear.
A recent client of ours whose packaging was failing at retail experienced this kind of thing firsthand, after going through the strategy and design process with us. After presenting new creative that addressed all the pain points uncovered during strategy, they were still hesitant to abandon their existing packaging. They were too emotionally invested in the current designs and the beautiful product photography. So, they decided to test the current packaging against the new, and the current designs won by two-tenths of a point. That emotional validation might feel good, but where does that get you?
Understand testing for what it is—fire insurance
Testing is not a silver bullet, but it is a great form of fire insurance. If it is something you decide to invest in, make sure you do things in the right order. Know your vision and mission, have a clearly defined “why” for your business and a roadmap for where you want to be in the future. Use elements of your brand strategy to inform your testing stimuli so you are asking the right questions.
Ultimately, when testing is driven by strategy, you are creating a much more valuable testing ground. You have a clearer understanding of what you are testing against, and your test subjects can help you prioritize features and benefits instead of splitting hairs over the design itself. Supplement your test results with other forms of data and research, and you will start to see the way forward. Because in the end, even with that testing box checked, you will most likely still have to trust your gut—and won’t it feel better to trust your gut with strategy backing it up?
Diana Fryc
For Diana, a fierce determination to pursue what’s right is rooted in her DNA. The daughter of parents who endured unimaginable hardship before emigrating from Eastern Europe to the U.S., she is built for a higher purpose. Starting with an experience working with Jane Goodall to source sustainably made paper, she went on to a career helping Corporate America normalize the use of environmentally responsible products and materials before coming to Retail Voodoo.
Form factor can either be part of your brand’s selling mechanism or integral to the functionality of the products. In either case, it dramatically impacts how customers are attracted to and interact with your brand.
We can all recognize Coca-Cola’s signature glass bottle silhouette anywhere and can spot a Pringles can from a mile away. Coca-Cola’s glass bottle was created to sell. They wanted to disrupt on-shelf and throw off copycats. The company wanted to be so memorable, someone could feel it in the dark and instantly recognize the brand. The classic Pringles can, on the other hand, was born out of necessity. They wanted a resealable chip vessel to keep their product fresh and a cylindrical, structured shape so their chips would remain aligned and avoid being crushed.
Strategy-driven form factor does not always look this dramatic. Small, subtle changes can influence consumers on a large scale and revolutionize your brand or even your industry. The following examples of how brand strategy can translate into form factor show both sides of this.
Form Follows Function, Right?
Hilary’s Eat Well veggie burgers had a form factor problem the aisle audit revealed during our brand strategy work. Hilary’s veggie burgers were packaged in two-pack, freezer safe pouches. Once the customer purchased a package, the remaining pouches on the shelf fell over (often face-down). This posed a very large problem in terms of visibility on-shelf .
And while the company was aware of this issue, their previous attempts to remedy the situation were engineered too costly and received push-back from Whole Foods and other natural grocers.
The outcomes and goals identified during brand strategy drove the design of the simple recyclable box. This solution improved sustainability (after all, it is a vegan brand), shopability, flavor appeal, and provided room to tell the more compelling story of the brand’s true point of differentiation. The packaging educated customers about the product being convenient culinary and made free-from common food allergens. Who knew a cute little chipboard box could do all that?
Form Informs a New Way to Effectively Reach Your Target Audience
Reaching new audiences is all about understanding how consumers interact with your product. DRY wanted to be known as the go-to sparkling beverage for tastemakers but struggled to gain traction with key bartenders and chefs. This wasn’t because these culinary masters didn’t like the product or refused to use it, no. It was because of the limiting form factor. The small, non-re-sealable 12-ounce bottles made it difficult to work within a hospitality setting. To combat this, DRY created a larger resealable bottle.
Not only did DRY’s new form take off in the hospitality industry, but major retailers took notice as well. Now consumers who wanted larger bottles for parties or entertaining could purchase a re-sealable bottle as well. By changing the form factor, DRY reached new, powerful audiences and provided them with new ways to consume their product.
Form Informs Emotional Connections
Form factor can also be effective in communicating practical uses of products through storytelling. For example, Ruffwear’s mission was to create a deeper bond between people who love the outdoors and their dogs – allowing their companion to accompany them on their epic outdoor adventures. They made mountaineer-quality gear for dogs, but nobody knew this because they cost-engineered their packaging to be as thin and small as possible. It didn’t tell the story. Our brand strategy pulled at the powerful bond between owner and pet. Through emotion-driven customer education on the product attributes, we told their story.
Form Informs the Revolution of Your Industry
The wine industry notoriously feels stuffy – embracing exclusivity and the culinary elite. The beer industry’s reputation, on the other hand, feels more inviting and approachable. A large part of this is form factor of the two beverages. Canned beer is portable and seen as less sophisticated. Wine is known for being bottled and corked; saved for fancy glasses and sit-down dinners.
Underwood effectively flipped this norm on its head. The brand saw the craft beer industry beginning to infiltrate wine’s territory by becoming more of a gourmet, culinary experience – even paired with food on occasion. As the craft beer industry threatened to steal market share, Underwood decided to steal it back by canning their wine – subsequently making it approachable, portable, and unstuffy. Younger audiences can now have quick, adventurous experiences that involve wine without the barriers typically preventing them from consuming wine conveniently. Underwood used form factor to completely upend the industry.
Califia revolutionized their industry as well through form factor. Any shopper can recognize their signature bottle shape with just a quick glance. Their unique, elegant plastic bottle shape disrupted the milk category because the product no longer lived in just the paper carton anymore. The brand wanted to move into the natural, organic, alternative milk category, so their form factor emulated characteristics that would communicate those qualities and shared values to customers. The graceful and iconic shape feels reminiscent of glass milk bottles – evoking a feeling of farm-to-table and reminding customers of the benefit of organic farming. The brand elicits this emotion right from the aisle. Now, customers can find everything Califia (from cold brew to almond milk to juice) in the same form – building a brand connection between completely different areas of the grocery store.
We often get so caught up thinking about graphic design or digital experiences that we forget about the engineering of products and the vessels they live in. Form factor plays just as large of a role – if not more – in influencing consumer’s purchase decisions. It provides the canvas for storytelling and the correct mechanics to optimize performance. Shape, structure, and function can revolutionize an entire brand and even an entire industry.
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
If you’re the owner of a natural/organic food brand you know the roller coaster. Natural product stores, from Whole Foods to the smaller independents, might love your brand today and discontinue it tomorrow. Let’s face it, shelf space is always at a premium and brands are subject to getting bumped for a variety of reasons. If turns are slow at first, out you go. If another brand comes along that looks sexier, you’re gone. If the retailer decides on private label offerings in the category, finito. It isn’t easy to get into most retail stores to begin with, but it’s easy for them to give your brand the boot.
These are the scenarios at retail. You know it and we know it. The question is: what to do about it? You have to recognize as the entrepreneur of a small brand that distribution is key to survival and that means having a presence in different channels. You might not like the idea because you think your natural/organic brand belongs in natural product stores, but that kind of thinking will hamper your chances of success. In 2015 the number of organic items available in traditional grocery stores was up between 35 percent and 50 percent, according to estimates from investment bank Piper Jaffray.
Never put all of your eggs in one basket, right? While the traditional natural product shopper continues to buy at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and their local health food stores, there are plenty of other customers who are buying natural/organic products in other channels. They may not be as hardcore, as educated about the products, or as dedicated to buying whole foods and clean products all of the time, but there are millions of these consumers shopping in mainstream retail stores. And having access to products that they know are intrinsically healthier choices influences buying decisions.
That’s why your goal has to be to take your natural/organic brand and cross over into mainstream retailers both online and off. Sure, some conventional shoppers are dabblers. However, others will try your brand, like it, and become loyal consumers. They’ll tell their friends and that buzz will help build your business.
With eggs in multiple baskets, it isn’t a disaster if a major player in the natural/organic industry drops your brand, either. You can sustain that and look for more distribution as you go along. Revered brands like Traditional Medicinals did this a long time ago. They’ve got a presence in natural food stores and supermarkets, including Wal-Mart, specialty/gourmet stores, drug stores, and among e-tailers. More recently Alden’s Organic Ice Cream and Hilary’s Eat Well – purveyors of veggie burgers, salad dressings and snacks – made the same leap. They have gone from exclusive distribution in natural product stores to stocking their products in supermarkets. Smart.
The natural/organic category is no longer an afterthought for retailers, but a powerful part of their over overall merchandising strategies. There’s a commitment to expanding these categories like never before.
Enter the trendsetter for non-traditional consumers: Target
We all know that when Target gets behind a category and niche, the retailer has the power to move the needle in a big way; it’s been no different for consumers seeking better-for-you alternatives. In a recent article in Business Insider, Target CEO Brian Cornell is quoted from a November conference call: “We’ve been very focused on assortment changes and bringing more natural, organic, local items into many of our categories, and we’re seeing the guest react very favorably.”
Reread: There’s great potential growth in mainstream retail stores; the consumer is primed and ready for it. Natural/organic can be attractively priced against specialty retailers without sacrificing quality while still enjoying much better margins than the average fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands.
There’s an interest among the nation’s largest food retailers to source more local products and brands, as well – the former bastion of natural product retailers. With the lines continuing to blur, consumers expect to find these products where they shop in their daily life. Things are going to get even more interesting; stay tuned.
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
A recent article discussed the woes of Sports Authority with the headline: “Sports Authority Is Sinking Under Discounts And Naming Rights.”Really? There’s no doubt, as the article cites, that Sports Authority has some major problems. What the article doesn’t explicitly say, however, is that these problems are of their own making. But they are.
In a nutshell: deep discounting to move out merchandise due to slow sales, paying a whopping $6 million per annum to have its name—Sports Authority Field—on the Denver Broncos’ stadium, and a $20 million default on its $343 million dollar debt all led to the company’s declaration of bankruptcy under chapter 11. These are the reasons given for the company’s demise. The company itself cites increased competition, as well.
And then of course, the lamentable state of retailing is yet again pointed out in other articles discussing the demise of Sports Authority. After all, retail giants like Macy’s, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, Sears, Barnes & Noble are all going the way of the dodo bird; and with good reason in every case.
But coming back to Sports Authority, there’s more to the story than the company’s sinking under discounts, debt and naming rights. Let me ask you this question: what comes into your mind when you hear the name “Sports Authority”? Summarize their brand in a few words. Can’t, can you? Nor can I. And that is really the crux of their problem more than anything else.
Not saying they haven’t made bone-headed business decisions here, but Sports Authority is literally a name without a brand.
Make No Excuses
Brick and mortar retailers are finding it harder to pull in customers. Etailers are taking their customer base away from them. Competition is intense in every category. To all of that I say this: too many retailers aren’t giving customers a reason to believe. Too few are giving customers unique and compelling experiences. If they did, they’d have fans pouring into their stores. People can buy merchandise anywhere, but what they’re hungry for is the experience more than the product. Let that truth sink in.
Now think of this. Think of the sports names that represent meaningful brands. You know: brands that have meaning, substance and values, that they live and breathe up and down the line. In spite of a tough economy, in spite of increased competition, these brands are in it for the long haul. They can withstand tough times. They can even flourish because they attract customers and then turn them into brand fans. Their fans do purchase from their websites but they also enjoy coming into their stores because it’s always a great experience.
Who am I talking about? REI comes to mind. LL Bean. Cabela’s. Bass Pro Shops. Eastern Mountain Sports. All of these companies are brands. Brands with a clear position and value proposition. Brands with a vibrant story. What’s Sports Authority’s position, proposition and story, anyway? Hmmm, can’t seem to recall… isn’t that the larger point?
And here’s the thing: when you own a brand, it dictates business decision making. It actually helps you to avoid making bone-headed mistakes that could derail your company because anything that isn’t brand-centric and customer-centric simply isn’t done.
Naming a famous sports complex might stroke the egos of the inhabitants of the C-Suite but it doesn’t do much else. Don’t tell me that wasn’t why Sports Authority chose to fork out millions to put its banner in the Denver Broncos stadium. After all, competitor Dick’s Sporting Goods did it, so the mentality was likely one of not being outdone.
Strong sports brands help to support and underwrite events in their local communities—the ones that make sense for them and their fans. No need to blow millions on extravagant stuff. And you know what? I’ll bet legions of Denver Bronco fans bought their team jerseys, hats and sweats online or from a competitor—not from Sports Authority. That makes this tale even sadder.
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
It’s easy to spot the brands who seized the imagination of a small group and then taught that group how to spread the word, make converts and turn their fringe offering into a mainstream way of seeing the world.
It is another thing to understand how to use the cult branding formula made famous by BJ Beuno in his landmark book, The Power of Cult Branding. This article aims to build on these theories, modernize them and offers strategies you can implement starting today.
Before we begin, I need to simplify and update the opening statement that Doug Atkins makes in his book The Culting of Brands:
How to Build the Bridge Between Customers I Need and I am
First let’s understand that this article refers to I need as tactical and I am as how one identifies themselves within the context of that need.
It’s a non-linear process but this is what happens in the human mind:
I need to lose some weight, I am not competitive. I need to start jogging. I need running shoes. I am a light-hearted, non-conformist. I am a Brooks runner.
Top running shoe brands and their achetypes. Courtesy of The Hero and The Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson.
1. Know why your brand has stark-raving fans
Understand what needs your brand fulfills in your best customers. Know who loves your brand and why. Be specific. Let’s look at some brands that really understand who loves them and how their brands can return the favor.
REI and Nike
REI provides the knowledge and confidence to explore and discover new adventures for people of all levels, but for those whose identity is Outdoor Enthusiast, Cyclist, Climber, Hiker, or Skier, REI is Mecca. REI knows its followers are active, environmentally concerned and eager to share their passion for the outdoors with others. The co-op returns their love in ways that create stark-raving fans by providing opportunities to contribute to the brand in multiple ways: joining the co-op, taking an oath to “leave no trace”, community education and outreach programs, and even a garage sale.
Phil Knight said, “Nike’s culture and style is to be a rebel. The company was built on a genuine passion for sports and maverick disregard for convention, hard work, serious sports, and performance.” But there is more to the story. It wasn’t just gear – Bowerman and Prefontaine were the genesis of life coaching.
Nike cares about its customers’ lives not just their bodies. It doesn’t just promote sales, it promotes sports for the benefit of all. Nike coaches you to deepen your passion for whatever sport you choose, relying on education, lifestyle management and inspiration rather than selling gear. As a stark-raving fan, my experience quickly moves from “I am a runner” to “I need gear so that I can go faster, be stronger and rush into the waiting arms of the goddess of Victory”. Over the course of time it has evolved to become “I am Victory’s lover, I need to be worthy.”
2. Identify your brand’s archetype
The use of archetypes in branding has become its own phenomenon. An archetype is a universally familiar character or situation that transcends time, place, culture, gender and age. It represents an eternal truth. Books and articles abound. The reason for the popularity is simple: By using the concept of the archetypes, management can protect itself from developing a brand that is inconsistent. Archetypes make it possible to deepen the customer’s relationship with your brand because doing so fulfills an unconscious ambition that is linked to who they get to be when they are with your brand. Using archetypes in your brand development helps delineate the marketing process while helping to keep your brand’s value system firmly intact.
The most common archetype used in sports and outdoor is, no surprise, The Explorer, but comes under many names, including Seeker, Pilgrim, Wanderer, Pioneer, Individualist, Iconoclast and Adventurer.
Explorers are authentic, fulfilled, curious, individual, unique, ambitious and always true to themselves. Their goal is discovery, to experience a more authentic and fulfilling life by using their freedom to explore the world.
The Explorer is a perfect archetype if your brand helps people be free, is pioneering, is rugged and sturdy, is used on the road and in the wild, helps people express their individuality, can be purchased and consumed on the go or if you want to differentiate yourself from a more conformist brand. This might explain why it is the most common brand archetype used in the outdoor industry.
The Explorer isn’t limited to outdoor brands.
Starbucks leverages the Explorer archetype to great effect. Think green logo and Siren as sea goddess. They also emphasize choice and customization for every customer. Even the name was taken from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick – Starbucks is the name of the first mate on the Pequot. Even their packaging and retail experience reference exotic places where coffee is born. Yes born, not grown, but that, Dear Reader, is another tale altogether.
Starbucks leverages the Explorer archetype to great effect as demonstrated in their first India location.
There’s no rule that a brand can’t have multiple archetype personalities. And in a space where nearly all brands are leveraging the same archetype I encourage adding a second archetype to bring distinction and clarity in how you write, design, and communicate for your brand.
Go ahead and try it with your brand management team. Unorthodox combinations are a great starting point for brand strategy and communication.
3. Create a single brand voice
Establish a single brand voice that allows for many to chime in, transmute, interpret and re-forge your vision. Focus your efforts on ways to share that vision with like-minded people and keep your message consistent. Knowing what your business stands for (besides selling things) makes it easier for people to commit to your brand.
Lululemon is quickly becoming a Beloved Brand, with an extremely loyal following that loves not only how the brand makes them feel (healthy, comfortable, free) but also love the product which is reliable, ethical and high quality.
Lululemon‘s manifesto has quickly become a guide to life for the modern woman.
Centered in the core values of traditional yoga, their manifesto is translated for our modern world with statements such as “this is not a practice life, this is all there is.” The core of Lululemon’s DNA is Yoga. And all of the voices in their choir are singing from the same songbook.
4. Create places for your brand to build community
Use the insights gained from your customers’ attraction to the brand as inspiration for developing programs to support community. If you are just starting a brand I might suggest the best way to reach people is to look for topics and causes around which they are already gathering and align one’s brand with those topics or causes. Since most of us are already on the path, I suggest the following:
Sponsor events that reflect your brand’s mission.
Acknowledge the community. Strong communities provide a sense of identity to their members and become an integral part of their lives.
Support the community to reinforce the affinity customers have for your brand.
Don’t be a control freak. Communities aren’t focus groups.
Don’t waste energy trying to control the community. Instead, participate as a co-creator. View communities as a chance to stay close to your stark-raving fans. Look for ways to innovate around their needs and to help them fall deeply in love with your brand.
Nike+Fuelband is the poster child for branded community.
Nike Fuelband not only encourages customers’ active lifestyles, it encourages community engagement. It allows people to track performance through a wristband and compete with friends by climbing up the leader board. Users share their success on facebook and call out friends when they lose. Nike knows that their stark-raving fans are highly competitive individuals so they built a community to leverage this using social media to strengthen their brand.
5. Know thy enemy to deepen the brand rivalry
Differences help define group identity. Watch your competitors to see how they can be leveraged to reinforce the culture of the community. Nothing unites a group like having a common enemy. In the words of Scott Bedbury, “Everything Matters”.
Brand rivalry means competition, and competition means never-ending improvement of service, products and brand relationships. This leads to more transparency, more collaboration, better socially responsible and environmentally responsible actions and a greater incentive towards good in all industries.
Case in point: Puma and Nike have been meeting each other’s sustainability standards, and are producing more and more goods and services that are for good. Nike encourages social responsibility and sustainability through their ‘Better World’ manifesto.
Puma edged ahead recently by being named the world’s most sustainable large company. Puma is the first company in the world to put a value on the eco services it uses to produce its gear, signaling a radical change in the way business will account for its use of natural resources. Puma committed that half its collections will be manufactured according to its internal sustainability standard within four years. Clearly the rivalry is good for innovation and mankind.
What can you do you leverage your brand’s rivals to make the world better and create stark-raving fans at the same time?
Get on the path to constant and never-ending brand improvement
The path to elevating your brand to cult status is not linear, but I’m giving you tools that you can experiment with and put into practice today. My goal isn’t to claim this territory as my own, but to simplify and modernize it so that more people can believe in and be empowered by belonging to something bigger than themselves.
What are you doing to elevate your brand’s cultability?
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
Customers don’t care about the products you’re selling. They don’t care about your promotions. Your advertising doesn’t cut it, either. Stores must get out of the 20th century mind-set that they’re places of commerce. Forget about focusing on selling stuff. Consumers are moving away from “mindless to mindful consumption”. They’re spending their money with organizations who’s core brand values align with their own. And what resonates is when those values are embedded in a 360 degree experiential design strategy that’s fully implemented and adhered to.
Compelling research by John Gerzema in his book “Spend Shift” points out that a paradigm shift is well underway. What customers are interested in; what they’re craving is a great experience. The promise of one doesn’t mean much; fulfillment is all that matters. It’s no accident that consumers are going online and into brick and mortar store that offer tangible value and deliver on their promises of great experiences.
Shoe Fetish
Everybody knows how strong the retail shoe business is. Energized by growing customer interest and gross margins of up to 50%, Macy’s, Saks and Barney’s among other notable retailers are adding significant square footage to their shoe departments. Besides delivering more designer footwear, how do retailers plan on wooing customers to their stores versus the competition? Macy’s Herald Square flagship store plans on adding a champagne and chocolate bar, designer shops-within-shops and are you ready for this: shoe closets similar to those found among the well-heeled (pun intended) in SoHo. Really?
Here’s the thing: Macy’s efforts to create memorable experiences among shoe shoppers should be applauded. But what values are they based on? Wooing customers with champagne is a cool idea, but where’s the core value of at Macy’s in every department? Is this enough for the retailer to convince customers that its brands fit their lifestyles, meet their expectations and are extraordinary from top to bottom?
Want proof of a retailer that gets it? Zappos.
Zappos leveraged its uber-successful footwear business for women, expanded to men’s and children’s offerings and now the online retailer has moved into apparel and accessories. All without having a physical retail presence. How did they do it? Core brand values. All spelled out and lived by every day in every way by every employee to each customer. That’s how an e-tail business took well-established, long-time retailers back to school. Zappos openly talks about the WOW factor. Delivering for the customer in an unconventional way. Above and beyond expectation. Every time. Being a little quirky and making it fun. Getting to know the customer and making their experiences the best in the business. Making sure the culture is on board and clued in. Zappos totally focused on its core values from the very beginning—and sticking to them.
No one should be amazed at Zappos’ success. Their passionate, creative approach that’s flexible and open to change while remaining grounded in a well-designed retail strategy ensures their continuing success—unless they stray from their winning formula. And here’s the kicker that other retailers need to take note of as they expand their shoe departments: Zappo’s will continue to take significant share all because of the way they live and breathe their core brand values. It all translates into great experiences for the customers who have formed a tribe around their favorite retail brand.
Drill Down to Those Values
Many brands start off well but through the years they lose sight of their core values. They don’t stand for anything. They make promises that they simply don’t keep. Customers become disenfranchised and disenchanted. The magic is lost and the customers begin to leave, searching for retail experiences that deliver values aligned with their own and those elusive great experiences. But here’s the good news: retailers can make magic again. By drilling down to the values they’ve lost and realigning them to every aspect of their business: employee-facing, customer-facing and stakeholder-facing, they can regain trust and confidence. They can leverage that to become the cool place to shop again. But none of this can be left to chance. To be successful, an experiential strategy has to be ingrained into every aspect of the operation by design.
Drilling down to the core enables brand owners to get to the very soul of their businesses. When core values are delivered with clarity, simplicity, a compelling brand story–with maniacal focus and consistency. These values become enshrined as a sacred brand promise; a promise that is always kept. For retailers, for any business, this concept is a game changer because a commitment to delivering brand value always leads to great experiences for the customer. And great experiences turn customers into brand zealots.
It’s hard work to deliver a simple, compelling message but it’s essential for success.
There are too many marketing messages and too much noise—all unrelated to core brand values these days. Consumers are tuning it all out. Unique selling propositions come from alignment to simply articulated core values that are highly differentiated and unique. The USP comes from that one thing that the retailer delivers better than any other in a superlative, memorable and tangible manner. The one thing that puts them into a category all by themselves: that makes them the “one and only” for a targeted group of consumers. All advertising and marketing should be rooted in that and nothing else. When these values are delivered to the customer via a well-planned, well-executed experiential strategy it brings retail brands to life.
Mojo Hides in the Basics
As previously stated even the best can get away from their roots and have to get back to basics. But the magic can be recaptured with insights, hard work and a plan. Foot Locker was a retailer that had lost its mojo when Ken Hicks took the helm in 2009. Sales are up nearly 19% since 2010 with nine quarters of growth. Foot Locker is on track to realize $6 billion in sales in 2013 which would be its best year since the company took in $5.7 billion in 2006 before plummeting to $4.8 billion during the recession.
How did Hicks do it? In an interview with Footwear News in March 2010, Hicks basically outlined the new strategy for Foot Locker. He spoke about transitioning the brand to make it more relevant to the athletic consumer (getting back to its core value proposition) versus sneaker boutiques, department stores and e-tailers: “Our goal is to be the leading global retailer of athletically inspired shoes and apparel. . . making sure we’re taking care of our customers by converting higher, taking care of our associates so they’re inspired to engage the customer and give them an exciting experience. Having been in general merchandise for a bit of my life, it’s like a decathlete: you can shot-put, you can run a sprint, you can high-jump, but you’re never as good as the shot-putter, the sprinter or the high-jumper. We’re the specialty store here, and we’re going to beat them all on shoes.”
Ken Hick’s plan:
Refocus on the retailer’s top customers: young males between the ages of 12-20 and running joint events with the likes of Nike like “House of Hoops” to push high-end, very profitable sneakers.
Up the number of employees in the stores to offer expert advice, fit and service.
Merchandise highly profitable sports apparel in the front of the stores with footwear.
Respond to trends and focusing on running shoes more than its former mainstay basketball shoes due to shifting consumer demand.
Seamlessly integrate Foot Locker retail stores and website.
Offer the best assortment and value to the customer for athletic shoes and apparel.
Ken Hicks: “We’re going to be the place to go. If you need a sneaker, you’re going to think of Foot Locker.”
Translation: We’re going to be the one and only. We’re going to own the business. Hmmm…if they stick to their core, they might even take some sneaker share away from Zappos.
This is a challenge to retailers in every category: are you ready to change the world? Get to the heart and core value of your brands. Live them so that you can deliver game-changing experiences to your customers day in and day out. Create your own cult of brand zealots.
What will you do to disrupt your entire market’s scene?
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
So many retailers are at a standstill. They often blame it on a sluggish economy. But is that the problem? Consumers are spending. Maybe they’re more judicious about it, but they are buying. If they’re buying less in some retail stores than they used to, there’s a problem. And it usually boils down to a number of maladies: a brand set adrift, a loss of relevance, less than delightful customer experiences, experiences that don’t match up to the hype created by marketing campaigns or a little to a lot of each.
When this happens, retailers sometimes opt to do nothing thinking they can ride out the situation. Others decide to rebrand. Both of these choices are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Doing nothing is never a good idea. Any retail brand that is in a holding pattern or losing ground needs help; problems don’t go away by themselves and remedial action is necessary.
There are assets associated with retail brands, especially those with heritage, that have value and they shouldn’t be discarded. By doing consumer research to assess equitable assets, retailers can be returned to reinforced core brand values if they’ve gone adrift, and made more responsive to customers’ needs and current trends. Discarding assets that customers value is a terrible idea. Rather, it’s important to leverage them as the starting point to rebuild. This is what a brand refresh or revitalization is all about.
It’s never wise to throw the baby out with the bath water, unless the retail brand has so little value left that it has to undergo a total rebrand or it will go out of business. We all know of retailers that have lost focus of their brands along with relevance. Some have tried to revitalize or rebrand with excellent results while others have had dismal to catastrophic results. Ann Taylor succeeded. Sears has not.
A total rebrand may be unnecessary and might do more harm than good. Revitalization might just be the answer.
There are assets associated with retail brands, especially those with heritage, that have value and they shouldn’t be discarded. By doing consumer research to assess equitable assets, retailers can be returned to reinforced core brand values if they’ve gone adrift, and made more responsive to customers’ needs and current trends. Discarding assets that customers value is a terrible idea. Rather, it’s important to leverage them as the starting point to rebuild. This is what a brand refresh or revitalization is all about.
It’s never wise to throw the baby out with the bath water, unless the retail brand has so little value left that it has to undergo a total rebrand or it will go out of business. We all know of retailers that have lost focus of their brands along with relevance. Some have tried to revitalize or rebrand with excellent results while others have had dismal to catastrophic results. Ann Taylor succeeded. Sears has not.
Refreshes & Rebrands: Who’s Done it Well & Who Hasn’t
First, let’s acknowledge that some retailers remain rooted and true to their brands. They’re in tune with their customers, delivering strong brand experiences, anticipating customer trends and staying ahead of the competition so they remain viable. They’re constantly tweaking their brands in a smooth and consistent manner so that major overhauls are unnecessary. These retailers think constantly about helping consumers live their lives better. Their values speak to their customers’ values. New product offerings and services keep pace with the customer; they’re relevant. More than anything, they consistently deliver on their brand promises. As a result, their customers are more than loyal; they’re brand zealots. They can’t imagine a world without their favorite retailer. Their success speaks for itself. Think Nordstrom, IKEA, Whole Foods and H&M.
A Brand Wreck and a Brand Refresh
Talbots
Other retailers, once dominant among their constituents, have lost their way. Talbots, the Massachusetts-based retailer has made more than its share of mistakes in recent years in its attempts to revitalize its brand. Firmly branded as a retailer for women over the age of 35 for decades, Talbots decided to expand its retail footprint to include apparel stores for men and children, as well as apparel for these demographics in its catalogs. After trying to make it happen for a few years, the retailer closed these divisions out.
Talbot’s had always been perceived as a retailer providing updated classic apparel to mature women. The retailer then decided it should revitalize its brand by trying to cater to a younger clientele. The move made no sense. Younger women couldn’t envision themselves shopping at Talbot’s and have plenty of age-appropriate options. Yet, younger clothing styles appeared, mixed in with apparel for its mainstay customer, alienating the mature women who had always turned to Talbot’s. To make matters worse, cheaply-made, ill-fitting apparel replaced high quality, timeless clothing styles that fit mature women correctly. Instead of making itself relevant to the next generation of 35+ year olds, the retailer went after an audience it couldn’t hope to win over. Bloggers have discussed uneven customer experiences within Talbots retail stores; some have been strong and others quite disappointing. Add to that, the retailer’s website continues to present problems with frequency when customers try to make online purchases. With major disconnects and issues at every customer touch point, Talbot’s may not be around much longer.
REI
On the other hand, when Seattle-based co-op REI needed help, it was understood that the retailer had extremely loyal members and the brand had equitable assets. At 70+ years old, REI was failing to attract younger customers, which an outdoor retailer must do. REI called on retail brand design experts to research its problems and address them in a comprehensive, 360 degree manner. REI’s brand was revitalized with a new brand identity and positioning, visual branding system and customer acquisition strategy. The logo was updated along with store planning, exterior trade dress, packaging, apparel and gear marking systems and the brand standards manual. Nothing was left untouched. Most importantly, with C-suite cooperation, internal branding initiatives including employee training and an Employee Rewards program were instituted. Customer-facing initiatives included a new member loyalty program, improved catalog program, REI gift card program and bank card marketing strategy. Nothing was skin deep about this brand revitalization. End result? A marked growth in new customers, sales and locations; record profits; all without alienating its established customer base.
Rebranding Miss and Hit
Radio Shack
Radio Shack is a perfect example of a retailer that clearly misdiagnosed its problems and responded to them with the wrong solution. Unfortunately, the retailer had not kept pace with the customer. It looked old and tired losing business to competitors that offered trendy tech products and a better experience. So the decision was made in 2009 to rebrand. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well thought out or executed. Nor did it seem to be well researched. End result: the retailer changed its name from “Radio Shack” to simply “The Shack”, which sounds like a teen hangout for Rave parties. As bad as that was, the name change was clearly a marketing gimmick since the brand identity and store names remained the same! Merchandise assortments remained largely the same except for an expanded cadre of cell phones that could be purchased at Wal-Mart. That didn’t do anything to change the retailer’s image into something hip and cool, either, even though “The Shack” was meant to convey those values. The core in-store shopping experience didn’t change for the customer; it didn’t match the hype.
This whole exercise was skin deep doing nothing to revamp Radio Shack to entice new customers; it did alienate existing ones. Simply put: there was nothing authentic or believable about this rebranding effort, so it failed abysmally. The whole thing was a farce and consumers knew it. They also knew that if they wanted innovative tech products, a memorable experience and an aligned brand, the Apple Store was the place to go.
Instead of promising a total rebrand, which it clearly did not execute, Radio Shack would have been wise to bring in experts to assess whether a refresh or total rebrand was in order and then to make certain every aspect of the brand was touched and brought into alignment. By updating its core offerings with some exciting proprietary choices to reflect its customers’ current needs and by delivering on its brand promise with great customer experiences, Radio Shack might have started to turn things around.
Target
A total rebranding effort was undertaken in the late 1990’s by Target with very different results. The retailer had been branded as a discounter, competing directly with Wal-mart and K-Mart on price. The Target C suite recognized they simply couldn’t beat Wal-mart at that game; it was time to reposition, rebrand and own unique positioning. The turn-around was dramatic. “Cheap chic” resonated with fashion-conscious consumers. “Tarzhay” became a haunt for middle class and affluent consumers who touted the fact they could purchase Michael Graves designed teakettles and Isaac Mizrahi fashions at bargain pricing.
Stores environments became reflective of the new Target attitude. Advertising employed Andy Warhol-like pop culture photography and splashes of color and yes, the Campbell soup can was feted in ads. Shops within store with “only available at Target” apparel from noted fashion designers supports the retail image. Unique licensing deals and limited time offerings are relevant to trends and impress consumers that Target is far from staid; this is a retailer that’s on the move with plenty of newsworthy, changing merchandise.
Retailers that have found success have made the consumer the core of their strategy. They’ve gone after unique, ownable positioning and remained true to their core brands. They’ve worked to deliver on the brand promise every day. But many of them have done it with help. For successful turnarounds outside resources should be tapped; people who objectively conduct brand and consumer research without bias; who can present a sound, comprehensive strategy and tactics. It’s a major undertaking and no aspect of the brand can be left untouched. Experts work collaboratively with the C-suite to make it happen.
Without a 360 degree redesign, a refresh or rebrand is doomed to failure. It will not only fail to be effective; it will expedite the demise of the retail brand since consumers will be presented with a marketing proposition that isn’t authentic, makes no sense and does more harm than good. Executed poorly, a refresh or rebranding causes confusion among existing customers and fails to woo new ones. Marketing gimmicks are superficial and retailers who think they can turn things around in this manner are simply deluding themselves. Just remember the golden rule: “anything worth doing is worth doing well.”
Full disclosure: REI was a client of ours and we were happy to collaborate with them on the brand refresh mentioned in this article.
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
Quick: how many new brand extensions made an impact on you last year? Can’t remember many, if any, can you?
That’s the problem.
So many new products come out and fail; So few are memorable. Even fewer are hits.
It’s just too tempting. That’s why brands repeatedly go out on the proverbial limb and extend their brands. The problem is that it’s ill-advised to extend brands without answering fundamental questions first. “What is the #1 ownable aspect of the brand in consumers’ view?” Then: are there logical reasons for wanting to extend the brand? What are they? After all, it has to make sense to the company involved or it surely won’t make sense to consumers.
What many people perceive as brand extensions are in reality, line extensions. If an established brand adds a new variety to its existing assortments, it’s a line extension. Brand extensions take an established, well-recognized, respected brand into an entirely new category or categories of consumer products.
6 Reasons for Considering Brand Extensions:
Finding logical categories to expand the brand’s footprint. Ocean Spray is a great example. Leveraging its cranberry business into the juice category and the snack category with Craisins were both logical moves and they’ve paid off.
Creating a new category that makes so much sense consumers marvel that it hasn’t been thought of before. The Tide To Go stain removing pen that treats spots no matter where consumers are is a perfect example.
Leveraging the equity of a respected brand’s assets and raising its visibility to more consumers. Harley Davidson’s biker boots and apparel are a winner for both bike owners and wannabes.
Expanding the business with products in viable categories when sales are mature in existing ones. Kellogg’s Special K is a great example of a brand that leveraged the idea of losing weight from cereal to cereal bars, shakes, waffles and crackers.
Reducing potential risk and lower costs of entry since going to market with a recognized brand is far easier than trying to build a new one from scratch. There’s inherent trust among consumers which is a major asset. Crayola is a brand that went from being a crayon company to a provider of paints, markers and creative play sets for kids.
Ability to utilize the company’s expertise in branding, marketing and advertising and sharing these resources for the fledgling brand extension until it gets established and merits its own dedicated team.
By making rational assessments and tapping into consumer research, potential mistakes that can possibly harm or dilute the parent brand can be avoided. There are plenty of examples of brand extension failures; some of them embarrassing the most powerful of consumer brands. Who remembers Richard Branson’s powerful Virgin brand’s failures: cola, jeans, liquor? Thankfully for the company the brand name is so strong that its brand extension flops didn’t damage it. That’s a rare phenomenon when a brand has experienced a number of failed extensions.
While the Virgin brand offers consumers more value, more enjoyment and an unwaveringly high level of customer service and satisfaction, it could not break into categories where it didn’t seem to “belong” in consumers’ eyes. Or in categories where powerful brands already dominate: Coca Cola, Levis jeans, Smirnoff vodka. Extensive research would have uncovered that.
7 Dangers When it Comes to Brand Extensions:
Stretching a brand that doesn’t have an ownable asset other than its brand name. There are high recognition brands that have considerable value but don’t “own” a specific asset in consumers’ minds. As a result, their brand extensions often fail. Xerox found that out. The brand is synonymous with “copiers”, not high tech. Repeated attempts to launch high tech office products and office networks failed.
Stretching a brand with an ownable asset too far. Does anyone remember Bic underwear? What is Bic’s ownable asset? The concept of “disposable”; that’s why pens, lighters and razors work for the brand and underwear was a total flop.
Not assessing what is truly ownable to the brand and then leveraging that in appropriate categories. A Harley Davidson cake decorating kit? Really? What on earth does that have to do with the rugged individualism, freedom and celebration of the open road embodied by the brand?
Launching without consumer research: finding out whether consumers will accept the brand in a specific category is crucial. Do they associate the brand with the category or not? Is it acceptable to them or not? That’s how Hershey’s launched a chocolate milk product: research.
Getting into incompatible categories in consumers’ view. LifeSavers soda? Is it obvious why this brand extension was a bomb?
Getting into categories that are so dominated by other brands, it is hard to gain traction. Heinz is almost synonymous with condiments and food. When the company decided to stretch its brand to bring cleaning vinegar to market, it went up against major players in the cleaning category. It didn’t make sense to consumers, either. So it failed.
Diluting and eventually destroying the brand by extending into too many categories, often via licensing agreements. Dior. Period.
As is the case with everything else, there have been solid successes and spectacular failures when it comes to brand extensions. Jello pudding snacks, Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste, Starbucks coffee liqueur and Planter’s peanut butter make sense so they’ve done well. But does anyone remember Pond’s (of face cream fame) and its ill-fated launch of toothpaste? Of course it bombed! How about Coors spring water? And Colgate, the oral care company’s foray into frozen entrees? Anyone can easily see why these brand extensions failed.
The moral of the story
Some of the best brand extensions include retailers’ store brands from Starbucks to Macy’s and retailers in all channels and sizes.
As long as the retailer has a loyal following, and an ownable brand there’s no reason why well-planned and developed brand extensions can’t be successful.
Retailers’ brand extensions appear in every category from apparel and hard lines to packaged consumer products. But they, too, have to make brand sense. And they have to have appeal to the customer because every category is crowded with competitive products. Otherwise, they won’t succeed.
Getting brand extensions into meaningful categories is only the first step. Labeling, hang tags, packaging and advertising—each consumer touch point has to carry the message and the brand forward. Brand extensions can be risky and even major brands have experienced failure, but the rewards can be great. It just takes asking the right questions, doing the research and making sure that extensions align with the ownable assets of the brand.
Best advice to brand owners: don’t go this one alone. Get expert help and advice. Too much is at stake: no less than the health and well-being of the brand.
David Lemley
David was two decades into a design career with a wall full of shiny awards and a portfolio of clients including Nordstrom, Starbucks, Nintendo, and REI. His rocket trajectory veered when his oldest child faced a health challenge of indeterminate origin. Hundreds of research hours later, David identified food allergy as the issue and convinced skeptical medical professionals caring for his child. Since that experience, David and Retail Voodoo have been on a mission to create a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable food system for all.
