Branding

Branding Disasters: What We Can Learn From JCPenney

May 10, 2013 by primm

“I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice…in giving failure another chance.”

– James Cash Penney

Based on his quote above, it’s safe to say that the founder and namesake of the ailing department store JCPenney would support newly reinstated CEO Mike Ullman’s second chance at leading the store back to a semblance of its former glory.

JCPenney’s massive financial slump follows a failed rebranding attempt by Ron Johnson who took Ullman’s place in 2011. Johnson was largely responsible for Target’s successful “cheap chic” rebranding as the vice president of merchandising and worked hand-in-hand with Steve Jobs at Apple to create its famously consistent brand experience (“geek chic,” as it were). Why didn’t JCPenney enjoy the same kind of rebranding success under Johnson’s direction?

Let’s look at what went wrong and what you can learn from it.

Johnson wanted to shake things up at JCPenney by doing away with coupons and sales, discontinuing some of the older and stodgier merchandise mainstays and simplifying the physical layout of the stores. His goal was to revitalize the chain by making “hip” changes. For most of JCPenney’s clientele, the new look, feel and pricing system fell flat. While some customers responded positively, for most, the change was “too much too soon.” Revenues dropped from an already low level and after 17 months, Johnson out. Ullman in.

The Lesson:

No matter how cool or innovative a new brand concept seems, do your market research and act accordingly. Because of JCPenney’s sad and stagnant state when it fell into Johnson’s hands, he acted too quickly in an attempt to salvage it and failed to align his tactics with the likes and dislikes of JCPenney’s loyal existing customer base. Fun and flashy ads are great, but not if the customers actually buying respond to sensible and conservative ad messages.

Now, that’s not to say that change involved in a rebranding has to be totally at the mercy of your customers’ extant preferences. In fact, when you roll out big changes gradually and refrain from removing brand mainstays (in JCPenney’s case, coupons and discounts), you can acclimate your customer base to a new direction without shocking them out of your camp.

Another key let-down of the rebranding: the new logo. Slightly reminiscent of Myspace’s logo-change missteps, research showed that while 84% of consumers recognized JCPenney’s original logo and 76% recognized 2009’s slight change, only 56% could identify JCPenney with the logo introduced in 2011.

Image courtesy of: www.businessinsider.com

Ouch.

The Lesson:

Think twice before completely overhauling your logo. Ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” JCPenney, with all of its financial woes, boasted high brand recognition before the rebrand. The modern appeal of the March 2012 logo was likely not worth the customer confusion.

I never trust an executive who tends to pass the buck. Nor would I want to deal with him as a customer or a supplier.

-James Cash Penney

In April of this year, Ron Johnson was asked to step down and JCPenney faced the overwhelming task of regaining its share of the department store market. The company launched a huge social media campaign that communicated one message: “Come back to us. We’re listening.” This apologetic ad circulated on Facebook, garnering an incredible response from former JCPenney patrons who aired their discontents in the comments (most comments received a direct acknowledgement from JCPenney). It also displayed a more familiar logo instead of the poorly received one.

It seems that JCPenney’s leaders garnered some wisdom from their company’s founder and chose not to “pass the buck,” but rather to admit their failure. Whether or not this tactic will bring their numbers up remains to be seen, but JCPenney offers businesses a great example of how to recover from a failed rebranding.

The Lesson:

Admit to your mistakes and sincerely look for customer feedback. There is no value in pretending that missteps never happened. In the past few months we’ve talked about the importance of saying “sorry” and eating your humble pie when necessary. Honesty really is the best policy, so while we can’t guarantee that this strategy will fix all that’s broken…it certainly is a start.

Do you want to rebrand? Did a recent rebranding attempt not go as smoothly as you planned? Either way, call Primm. Our creative PR experts can help you make sure your customer base stays in love with you no matter how you change your logo.

Sources:

www.businessinsider.com

The Greatest Advertising Opportunity Since The Invention of Cereal

April 12, 2013 by primm

Is your brand message working for you or is it working against you? To answer that question, take a moment to step back and step in the shoes of your potential customer.

In the above clip from the popular AMC television show Madmen, we find Don Draper making an ad pitch to the decision makers of Lucky Strike cigarettes. Lucky Strike rested its brand image and message on the alleged health benefits of its cigarettes, but government scrutiny and consumer concern about the harmful effects of smoking necessitated a dramatic change in direction.

How could they possibly rebrand, asked the Lucky Strike leaders, when all cigarette companies sold roughly the same product? What selling point would set them apart from the competition if not for the dubious health claims?

“How do you make your cigarettes?” Don Draper asks the gentlemen, who then explain the process, including the step of toasting the tobacco. Draper devises the slogan, “It’s toasted.”

He explains to his befuddled client that even though the other cigarette companies toast their cigarettes as well, those companies aren’t taking that angle. The consumers, who were largely ignorant of the cigarette manufacturing process, would understand one thing: “Everybody else’s tobacco is poisonous. Lucky Strike’s is toasted.”

We can learn three lessons from this all too realistic branding scenario:

1. Find your angle in a sea of sameness.

It seems like an obvious suggestion, but sometimes companies that sell a common good or service can lose sight of what makes them unique. Even if your product isn’t all that different from the competition’s, you can always find a marketing angle that fills a void they left open.

Like in Lucky Strike’s case, that angle is often something seemingly mundane. You can’t overthink it, because your customers aren’t overthinking it.

In fact…

2. Assume no complex knowledge on the part of consumers.

We don’t mean to suggest here that consumers are stupid, but rather that they are, in general, far less acquainted with what your company sells than you are. They don’t care about all the ins-and-outs of the product, because that’s your job. If they are giving the product any kind of notice, it probably means they have some need that either you or the competition can fill. That’s why it is so important to know and be capable of communicating your unique angle, however simple that angle is.

3. Don’t try to be all things to all people.

One way to cater more successfully to your target audience is to stop attempting to market broadly. Instead, tailor your message specifically to the people with a desire and/or need for what you sell. In so doing, you are capturing the attention of those most likely to purchase what you sell and maybe even inspiring a sense of need in previously unaware consumers. Taking an unspecific, one-size-fits all marketing approach will lead only to a marginalized brand message.

Do you need a golden, Draper-esque brand message? Chances are, Primm can help. Call or contact the team today.

Advertising: Conception, Not Deception

May 25, 2012 by primm

A company advertising a great product and being honest is a wonderful thing. But what happens when a company makes false claims? And what happens when said company gets caught in their own lie? More than likely, some bad reviews come out…or even worse, a law suit.

Recently POM, a pomegranate juice company, learned that deception is not the answer when it comes to advertising. POM claimed that their pomegranate juice can cure or treat a variety of diseases such as heart disease and prostate cancer in various ads. However, this claim that POM made was never proven, therefore making it a lie. POM is now facing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) amidst allegations of deception.

Even more recently, Skechers, the shoe company that produces Shape Ups, has come under heavy scrutiny from the public. Skechers had to pay $40 million dollars to the FTC for making false claims that their Shape Ups shoes help a user tone and lose weight. (The real crime should be having consumers looking ridiculous in shoes that belong on a 70s disco dance floor.) Apparently, Skechers went as far as having an employee’s spouse who is a chiropractor do a testimonial for the defunct purpose of the shoe.

The point is: Companies should never mislead or lie to potential customers about the quality of their products. The short term benefits may be stellar but the long term benefits are detrimental to your brand’s image.

In order to keep consumer trust and be honest and forthcoming with the public all while increasing sales and creating quality ads, give us a call at the Primm Company (757-623-6234).
We’ll make sure you don’t end up talking to the FTC.

Sources: AdAge

Effort: The Secret to Branding Success

May 10, 2012 by primm

When most people think of the term “branding,” companies like Apple, Ford, Polo, and Nike come to mind. But branding isn’t just for multi-billion dollar companies. Any company can set themselves up for branding success; it just takes a little effort.

The first issue most small companies face is of cost. While, yes, Nike does spend what seems like a trillion dollars on advertising, a small business can create a branding campaign that will produce results for a very reasonable price.

Secondly, branding is about consistency; but that does not mean you have to be boring. Consistency means delivering the same message to the public until it sticks. Apple, for example, ran the “Mac vs. PC” campaign for some time. While all these ads had the same message, it was almost always a different topic in each spot.

This applies to all forms of advertising your company uses; everything from social media to television ads need to have the same level of consistency. The easiest way to be consistent is to know your target audience. Without knowing this, you are speaking to everyone and your message will not convey its purpose. For instance, do not advertise children’s toys on a late night television talk show. Rather, advertise during Saturday morning cartoons or in the afternoon when children are coming home from school. If your potential customers don’t see your ad, what good is it?

Finally, the brand you and your company are trying to convey needs to be portrayed by your employees as well, so that customers can see that you really are what you are declaring yourself to be.

By doing these few things, you and your company are on the right track to building brand awareness.
Over time, properly executed branding campaigns produce long-lasting results.

If you’d like to increase brand recognition for your business, give The Primm Company a call at 757-623-6234.

“Creative” Shouldn’t Mean “Risky”

April 26, 2012 by primm

The average person is bombarded by so many different sources of media every day that they simply tune out noise not relevant to them. Companies need to stand out in order to gain attention, which will hopefully lead to more sales. However, there is a difference between standing out creatively and simply standing out without thinking.

Recently, a company called Turtlebeach, which specializes in video game headsets, wanted to stand out. Their message was simple: “As real as you want it to get.” They wanted video gamers to think that by using their headphones their gaming experience would be more enjoyable. So in order to show off how realistic Turtlebeach headphones are, and how they make you feel as if you are living in the game, they sent a gamer into an “Iraqi” war zone and videotaped it for a viral video miniseries. Thankfully, they were in Turkey, not in a war zone, and everybody was in on the act except the gamer who was being filmed. As you can imagine, this marketing campaign came under heavy fire from the public, no pun intended.

Another case of possibly going too far is at this year’s recent South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival. At the event, homeless people were given a wi-fi hotspot to carry around, allowing the public to have internet access anywhere. In exchange, the homeless people were paid and had the opportunity to ask for donations. There were outcries from people, stating the festival and the wireless internet provider were dehumanizing the homeless participants.

Regardless of how edgy and innovative these campaigns were, they drew a lot of attention for the wrong reasons.

Despite these disasters, brilliant creative campaigns do exist. HomePlus grocery store in Korea was facing an obstacle; they were losing out to another big chain due to their lack of stores. Knowing they did not want to increase their amount of stores, Tesco had to think outside the box. Watch the video below to see how they made themselves more available to the busy worker.

Creative marketing is only effective when done right. If you’re interested in a creative marketing campaign, give The Primm Company a call at 757-623-6234.

Source: AdAge