The last few years, particularly the last few months, have given us some really interesting examples of: STRATEGY, LEADERSHIP, REAL-TIME FEEDBACK & BRAND MANAGEMENT.
History can be the judge of who has made the right decisions. Who had sound strategy. Who demonstrated leadership. Who served as the best brand steward and who built the most brand value.
These are just teasers, there are tons of articles for further reading on the following.
- Gap Has A New Logo…No Wait…They Don’t – When you have brand equity, you need to be cautious about brand evolutions. Who knows if this is what happened here. Needless to say there was enough poo-pooing in one week for Gap to decide to flush their Logo investment down the toilet and go back to the beloved, comfortable, recognizable lockup. Did it affect revenue? I’m sure they asked those questions or are checking it out.
- StarBucks Has A New Logo…Really…They’re Sticking With It – When Starbucks customers learned that the company name was taken out of the mark they went ballastic. The brand managers said they were sorry but they’d thought about it, done research and knew it was time to evolve. For an instant gratification, change-driven culture it is amazing how much we all cling to habit. We’ll see what impact this has on revenue. After 40 years, will people not know Starbucks when they don’t see the words?
- Motrin Moms – What happens when a small (3%?) segment of REALLY vocal consumers are incensed by your campaign? Ask Motrin. You take down your site, your campaign, then you ask questions about what the impact is. Was it ready, fire, aim? Who knew…they just knew those moms were pissed.
If you’re having a slow day and want to read more stories of consumerism gone awry, brand management gone astray, social media gone meteoric and some people with an entirely out of whack sense of their own relevance and power, check this blog on “A Chronology of Brands that got Punk’d by Social Media.” It’ll make your head spin.
