Measuring the success, and failure, of branding
Image courtesy of OutProve Technologies
With design, a failure is much easier to measure than a success. Especially when the cock-up costs your company tens of millions.
In the words of someone you know, but who I can’t recall, “Good design is invisible”, so we’re much more likely to kick up a fuss when it’s bad.
Here’s where you come in.
I’m looking for tales of branding success and failure to feature in my book. The search isn’t easy, and you all know a lot more than I do, so if you can share a story that shows how a change of brand identity affected a business (it could even be yours), please do get in touch.
Tropicana is an obvious case study to include. Now sure, there are a raft of external influences that can affect sales — the economy, changing markets, the loss of a competitor etc. — so it’s (usually) very difficult to blame such a sales slump entirely on a fresh company look. That said, this is definitely one of the more “cut and dry” scenarios.
Thanks in advance.
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Hello David,
There was quite a big discussion over on Logo Designer Blog about 5 recent rebrands that caused the most upset – this may be of assistance to you and your book. Also, I believe there are a number of quality case studies in the book Marks of Excellence that you also own – that may lead you in some other directions?
Hi Jacob,
Yes, I commented on your site, and had already published an article very similar:
When is a “bad” logo design actually good?
Unfortunately what all of those examples don’t show is how the change affected business.
What I’m looking for are concrete details about a success or failure, such as higher percentage of new customers, an increase in sales over a set period of time (Tropicana’s loss is a perfect example), or higher customer satisfaction, for instance.
These stats aren’t easy to come by, hence my request, but I appreciate the suggestion.
Tropicana comes to mind with the money spent on the revamp only to have Tropicana recall it.
I have a couple of cases from Denmark, but its not familiar brands for outsider, but they should go fairly cross culture.
Interested?
I just read an article from Package Design Magazine about re-branding of Steaz, and all-natural tea line. Although the article doesn’t list stats, it touches on how the company takes on the “big guys” and how they changed their image.
Maybe you could get in touch with the company owners for specific numbers?
http://www.packagedesignmag.com/issues/2009_04/p12.shtml
Good luck! :)
Esben,
Definitely want to check those out. I’ll send you an email now, or feel free to post a reply here if you’d like to share with others.
Robyn,
That could be a good fit. One I’ll certainly look into. Thanks a lot for the luck.
Maybe you could look into companies that have had both a rename AND rebrand, for example:
★ Gif → Cif [cleaning agent] (changed for European conformity?)
★ Marathon → Snickers [chocolate] (changed for ’some reason’)
★ “waxing/costemtic company brand, can’t remember original name (emack?)” → Veet (also changed for European conformity?)
These are just from the top of my head, but you get the idea :)
David,
Im sorry I saw your email first and replied.
David, you will get a kick out of this. Sometimes bad branding practices include those small details that are overlooked, such as spacing between letters.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rampcreative/422737490/in/set-72157594588429134/
It’s supposed to say MegaFlicks…it doesn’t
Wow…. I need more coffee in the morning…. I just realized I suggested something you wrote in the blog entry.
I can understand about the figures not being easy to find, who would want to publish stats about a design failure? Good luck on your quest.
David — here’s one from left field, ongoing, and about “brand” in a very encompassing sense. The brand here is a politician, but I thought it worth mentioning:
US congressman Mike Honda (D), whose constituents are largely Silicon Valley folks, is having his government website designed through a crowdsourcing “contest” site — but the BEST part? He’s ALSO having his constituents vote to decide the winning entry:
http://www.crowdspring.com/projects/website_design/small_website_uncoded/congressman_seeks_innovative_redesign_of_website/details
Is “Mike Honda, Innovator” a brand that produces:
A. Design demagoguery?
B. Craptastic mediocrity of a site which also violates for example, AIGA’s new spec work & ethical standards document http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/what-is-aigas-position-on-spec-work-and-ethical-standards
C. A clever method of creating constituent buy-in, social engagement, a little buzz for the aforementioned “Mike Honda, Innovator” brand?
D. Something altogether else…
Can’t wait to see how this representative’s brand is influenced by this decision (and what spec design possibilities bedazzles us)…
I wonder how those changes affected business, Andrew. Back in the day I couldn’t understand why Marathon changed name, and there were jokes abound. But then, I was only a kid.
Not to worry, Esben.
Jon, I know how you feel. Some mornings I’d be better off asleep.
Jacob, the media want to publish those stats, like AdAge (amongst others) did for Tropicana. Certainly only the most transparent businesses would publicise their own failures, or those with a requirement to their shareholders.
Hello Dan (designpuck),
I noticed your comment over on the AIGA article. This is undoubtedly a bad move from the congressman. Spec work sites are rife with stolen designs. If you look carefully enough, you’ll find a ton of examples. For instance, today my designer friend Mike is one of the unfortunate people whose work is being copied and sold by a so-called “creative”. This happens all the time, but then, perhaps Mr Honda knows some good lawyers, being an elected official.
I read a book last year on this topic, and it made for very interesting (and frequently entertaining) reading. Brand failures: the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time by Matt Haig. It might give you some ideas on where to look for other/more recent examples, or you may even be able to reference examples from the book with permission.
David, what about this store rebranding from Coffee Republic?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/coffee-republic-rebrands-itself-as-a-deli-as-coffee-boom-cools-537743.html
Noticed the mention about Mike Honda and the so-called “crowdsourcing” of his website through Crowdspring. A little sad as Honda is a Democratic Congressman and the Dems are usually quite strong in voicing support for fair labor practices. Not getting paid for your labor wouldn’t seem to fit the parameters of ‘fair’ at all.
Also, as over 50% of CS so-called ‘creatives’ are from abroad, there’s a high likelihood that a lot of the people submitting work will be outside the USA, perhaps even the winner. Nothing wrong with that per se, but certainly an iffy political move, especially with the Republicans looking for any way to tar their opponents as “unpatriotic”. Politicians in Canada have caught holy hell in the press for outsourcing their campaign design work, as has the government when it was discovered they were sending some printing contracts overseas.
It also amazes me that a Congressman who represents a high-tech area like Silicon Valley – hurt greatly by outsourcing and the like – would take his website design out of district, and potentially out of country. I would have thought the politically smart thing to do – even if Honda wanted to ‘crowdsource’ his website – would have been to open it up to designers that are his constituents. I’m sure web designers aren’t exactly scarce in Silicon Valley and having a local designer or design firm create his new website would have been more politically astute.
Tracey, that book seems perfectly suited. Off to look at it now, thanks very much.
Julia, loving how there are stats in that article. Maybe there’s a way I can use it and get my hands on some images.
Steve, nice insight there. I’m generally unfamiliar with US politics, but add a design story and I perk up.
Customers notice imperfections, the good design is taken for granted sometimes.
Design is personal – is there any such thing as Bad design? There’s design that doesn’t make you money!
Hey David,
I don’t know if you’re interested in local brands; but let me throw out an example from our country, the Philippines, anyway.
There’s a bank that used to be called Banco de Oro. Its old identity was dated, boring and washed out. It looked unreliable and trustworthy. You wouldn’t put your money in there if you’re someone who cares about your financial security.
In recent years, after they were acquired by the richest businessman in the Philippines, which led to a complete reversal. Design-wise, it’s still not that great (check their website out: http://www.bdo.com.ph/) but take into consideration the context of the design in our country and the results of the rebranding & redesign, it’s actually quite stunning.
They changed their whole brand experience – the ATM machines and store interiors were changed, the culture of the staff and employees were revolutionized, and all the marketing collaterals were adjusted accordingly. In no time, they zoomed to number one, past international brands like Citibank and HSBC.
I just thought you might be interested.
Keep the good articles coming, David!
I know this is probably not exactly what you’re looking for but it may still prove to be a case in point. Prince. When he changed into that “Symbol” in the early 90s. His career went downhill from there. No wonder he changed back to the original name in 2000.
Hi David,
I’ve been interested in the latest dust-up (ahem) over Dustin Curtis’ response to American Airlines. So much so, that I couldn’t help but comment. You’re shocked, I’m sure. http://bit.ly/ozY8G
With the US’ federal bailout program, it seems designers of all stripes are lending a hand to suggest ways of reshaping the brand language(s) of failing banks, automakers, and the like. It’s an odd trend, and the internet has provided direct access to those companies. Whether they (the corporations) listen is indicative of whether they are nimble and customer-focused. They needn’t be overly reactive (which, I believe, Tropicana was), but they should aim to appear somewhat responsive. Or at very least, open to listening to their customers.
I’ll think on this a bit more. Would be happy to contribute.
Best,
Eric
I’m not fully clued on the circumstances but I understand Royal Mail was rebranded to Consignia and with no doubt it was very clearly a bad decision affecting the business widely.
More information here http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=76
Hope this may be of help.
Ashley
” http://www.flickr.com/photos/rampcreative/422737490/in/set-72157594588429134/
It’s supposed to say MegaFlicks…it doesn’t ”
Oh my god, Ha. Even if everyone somehow missed that through the entire design process, who is responsible for letting that sign stay up?
They’ll never get a customer who has a child in the care again.
you are right failures are very easy to measure. but they can never be easy to solve. these always comes together: failure and success. there can never be success without failures. (kika.ca)
What about Pizza Huts failure with Pasta Hut. They didnt full launch it but in the select markets they did, it was a mega bomb.
Dwight,
Yes, local brands, international brands… as long as there are some concrete details I’m definitely interested. I’ll add your case study to my list of ones to research. Cheers buddy.
DT,
If I can find details, the Prince “symbol” could make for an interesting read.
Eric,
Thanks for the link. I wasn’t familiar with the AA website story. Did you read the comments too? One of the best takeaways from the Fast Company piece is the “product team” diagram. There’d be a horrendous amount of design by committee there, and it’s times like these when I’m glad I don’t work within a large multi-national.
Ashley,
Great example. I’ll look into it now.
Andrew,
Humorous, yep, though when I see things like that I always wonder if it’s Photoshopped.
Chris,
I remember the Pasta Hut site doing the rounds, though at the time couldn’t decide if it was a joke or not. If you have any specific info, I’d love to know.
Thanks a ton, everyone.
Let’s talk about failure, a few months ago David, you started a conversation with a post you wrote about Tropicana new rebranding exercise. If we want to talk about failure in terms of boosting the sales, here is the link to the full story:
http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=137086
Cheers.
David
One rebranding you might want to look into is Xe. Xe is the rebranded name for Blackwater Worldwide which stood (and probably still does stand) in the center of some controversy in Iraq and even had their right to work in that country terminated by its government and there is some fairly polarized opinions on this company. Might make an interesting case study politics aside.
I find the Jack In The Box rebranding soulless. To me, the fancier font seems to take away from the comic/creepy ad campaign and the earlier ‘fun’ font. The earlier 2-D box seemed to convey ‘box’ to me just fine, so I don’t see why there needed to be shading to suggest a 3-D box. And, the words ‘In The Box’ seem to have been cast outside the box mercilessly.
Your thoughts?
Oh, nice, David. That surprises me, given the initial reaction after the Mtn abbreviation. The drink isn’t too popular here in the UK, and I don’t often see if on shelves. I like it though, as far as water and corn syrup goes.
Jon,
I’m unfamiliar with Xe (except for the excellent currency conversion website xe.com). I appreciate the suggestion, which I’ll look into.
David,
I have a small ‘Mom and Pop Store’ sucess story about a client of mine who has seen a large (for her company size) increase in customers after a logo and business card redesign. I don’t know if this ’small business’ type is the type of stories you are after but I’d be glad to share. I’m also sure she wouldn’t mind saying a few words too. Let me know.
Hey Dave mate,
trawl through the Design Effectiveness Awards winners (past and present). You’ll find some great examples both large and small. All the work has been done to demonstrate true success.
Best of luck buddy and cheers.
Blair
Robert,
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve got some great ones now, thanks to everyone’s comments, and a particularly great shout is that last one from Blair, for the Design Effectiveness Awards. Excellent.
A little off-topic, I see that if you enter your Twitter profile in the newly-implemented comment field here, all of your previous comments on this site will automatically change to show the ID.
I like that.
Yeah, I think I’ve read a couple of articles about companies that changed their logos for the worse. As for me, I think changing brand logo should be done very carefully. Because the logo is something the costumers get familiar to, especially if they find it quite hard to remember the company name. :)