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Rebranding

Where there’s muck…

by nick on May 4, 2010

Rebranding is an ugly word. All too often it’s a euphemism for ‘we were rubbish but a cleaner logo and new strapline means you should forgive our history and buy into this new stuff.’ Perversely, not rebranding is one of the reasons Mr Brown is going to be punished so badly on Thursday.

But I am a fan of change. I love improvement and progress and no one needs that more than a trio of uber-brands: Toyota, BP and Nike. All three have had a disastrous time in 2010 but the BP spill is sickening beyond belief. All three are surely hiring branding experts to refocus messages and ensure customer buy in?

But that’s the problem with most branding. It’s not the logo, or font, or jingle, it’s what the company does that makes it what it is. That’s why the purest marketing is a reflection what you are (your true story), not what Madison Avenue portrays you to be. Actions are what customers truly judge you on. The slickest branding in the world won’t get you to invest in Bernard Madoff!

So, Nike needs Tiger to stay on the wagon, Toyota needs consumer confidence more than we need oxygen and BP (along with everything they’re about to devastate) need a biblical miracle.

Nope, branding really isn’t about logo, is it?

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Starbucks aren’t quite themselves

by nick on July 25, 2009

starbucksWhen a brand gets too big for its boots it can always change them for loafers. That’s what the Seattle behemoth, Starbucks appears to be doing by going all bohemian.

In an apparent throwback to their origins of the 70s, customers can listen to live music and poetry and even buy alcohol. But, more surprisingly, this pilot includes ditching the name at three stores in their hometown for a more neighbourhood “community personality.”

If this is a corporate makeover then it’s a radical one that may well throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. McDonald’s modernised its restaurants recently but they didn’t dare mess with the brand name. A local focus is unquestionably sensible but with 38 years of growth in the name, are the connotations so negative that you’d want to turn your back on it?

The anti-globalisation consumer is as likely to boycott Starbucks’ 16,000 stores as they are Coke. If this is a play to engage them I suspect it might fail, rather like my three-year-old believing she’s become invisible by covering her eyes. The coffee aficionados of Seattle will be all too aware of the company’s facelift and could arguably shun it with double enthusiasm.

What do you guys think, is this retail smoke and mirrors or is it modern rebranding genius?

Photo credit: re-ality

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