the good, the bad, and the dead
DESCRIPTION
The Dead. Serial Killers. Mutants. Halloween staples, sure. But these genre titles can also be applied to brands and their life cycle. Brand graveyards are littered with brands that were one-dimensional, not innovative, and generally lost value in culture (RIP Tower Records). No one is immune to the curse, but, with proper care, brands can be resurrected. This Halloween season, Y&R’s BrandAsset Valuator® (BAV) - our proprietary brand management tool and global database of consumer perceptions of brands – looked at 20 years of data to analyze The Good, The Bad, and The Dead. Using BAV’s measurements on four key pillars of brand health and 48 brand imagery dimensions, we looked at brands that are seemingly immortal, the ones that risk becoming irrelevant, and those that have gone to that great big brand grave in the…well, ground.TRANSCRIPT
THE BRAND GRAVEYARD
The Dead. Serial Killers. Mutants.
Halloween staples, sure. But these genre titles can also be applied to brands and their life cycle.
Brand graveyards are littered with brands that died because they were one-dimensional, lost the ability to stay relevant in consumers’ lives, and generally lost cultural value (RIP Tower Records). No one is immune to the curse, but, with proper care, brands can be resurrected.
This Halloween season, Y&R’s BrandAsset Valuator® (BAV) - our proprietary brand management tool and global database of consumer perceptions of brands – looked at 20 years of U.S. data to analyze The Good, The Bad, and The Dead. Using BAV’s measurements on four key pillars of brand health and 48 brand imagery dimensions, we looked at brands that are seemingly immortal, the ones at risk of becoming irrelevant, and those that have gone to that great big brand grave in the…well, ground.
UNDERSTANDING BAV PILLARS
DIFFERENTIATION a brand's unique meaning, dynamism, and energy
RELEVANCE how meaningful a brand is in the life of a customer
ESTEEM consumers' respect and regard for a brand
KNOWLEDGE the depth of understanding consumers have of a brand
THE DEAD
3XPalm PilotCircuit City
NapsterBorders Books
Hummer Surge
BLOCKBUSTER
RIPLARGER THAN ITS BIGGEST COMPETITOR
9,000LOCATIONSAT ITS PEAK
$9.31 STOCK PRICEIN 2005
$0.05STOCK PRICEIN 2010
“TRADITIONAL”ONCE SEEN AS INNOVATIVE, NOW IS
Simply put, these are the brands that no longer exist – the ones that lost value in culture. Over time these brands fell off on equity, which BAV measures using four pillars (Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, and Knowledge). Ranking high on each of these pillars is guaranteed success for brands.
Take for example the life and death of Blockbuster. Its leader status rose from a business model centered on being a behe-moth: it had a huge and diverse inventory (movies, videogames, snacks), it was open seven days a week, and offered new releases as soon as they were available. But with such an established brick-and-mortar presence, Blockbuster was not nimble enough to change quickly.
Enter Netflix.
Well, we all know what happened next.
CASE STUDY:
It takes a special brand profile to kill off major competi-tion and dominate a category. Like Netflix — seen as a market leader by consumers, Its high equity scores and Differentiation helped “kill” Blockbuster.
Seen as innovative, these brands dominate their catego-ries — knocking off their competitors one by one with their high marks on all four pillars. Making it harder for any other brand to enter this space.
SERIAL KILLERS
SERIAL KILLERS
Trader J
oe’s
iPhone
iTunes
Amazon
Netflix
Swiffer
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DIF REL EST KNO
Trader Joe’s Supermarket Average
100
80
60
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SUPERMARKETS
FriendlyTrustworthyGood Value
Down to EarthReliable
This chart demonstrates how Trader Joe’s scores far above its category in BAV’s pillar: Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, and Knowledge.
Trader Joe’s, like other serial killer brands, excels partially because it captures the traits that are expected of their category while also managing to cultivate a charismatic personality.
TRADER JOE’S
FunTrendy
ProgressiveAuthenticUnique
CASE STUDY: TRADER JOE’S
THE INFECTED
And then there are the brands that should be coffin shopping – brands that are fatigued, declining, and struggling to recover. These brands are consistently dropping in Differentiation and Esteem, and are often seen by consumers as outdated.
However, not all hope is lost. If these brands can evolve, they can successfully mutate into a new stage of their life cycle.
THE INFECTED
America Online (AOL)United Colors of Benetton
Boston MarketMySpace
BlackberryQuiznos
Diners ClubKodak
2008
20042003
1999
20072009-11
BR
AN
D S
TR
EN
GT
HD
IFF
ER
EN
TIA
TIO
N &
RE
LEV
AN
CE
BRAND STATUREESTEEM & KNOWLEDGE
2006 2010
2009
2001
2013
2011
2013
2013
MUTANTS
Not so much The Hills Have Eyes variety, but think more like The X-Men. These brands, due to a drop in equity, were on the verge of death, but developed Differentiation and regained Relevance, Esteem, and Knowledge.
Old Spice, which was once seen as one of the most traditional brands in the U.S., has evolved to being seen as more daring and dynamic through a mix of viral and interactive campaigns.
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2005 2010
80
60
40
All but forgotten, Old Spice made a huge comeback with its “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign that launched during the 2010 Superbowl. Not did it revitalize the brand, it established Old Spice as a cultural icon.
CASE STUDY: OLD SPICE
MUTANTS
NintendoOld Spice
Dunkin’ DonutsHostess/Twinkies
LEGO
23 MILLION VIEWS IN 36 HOURS
Saying that “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” commercial performed well after launching is a severe understatement
106% The amount sales went up from the prior year period after its new communication efforts
IMMORTALS
Some brands have proven that they just can’t be killed. These brands have always held a leadership position in our culture, ranking in the Top 5 percent of 3,000+ U.S. brands on all BAV pillars and have shielded against decay by being seen by consumers as trustworthy, visionary, and original.
IMMORTAL
DisneyNike
MicrosoftThe Discovery Channel
U.S. MarinesHallmark
Amazon.comGeneral Electric
IBMCoca-Cola
CASE STUDY: AMAZON.COM
1999
ProgressiveIntelligentInnovative
LeaderDynamic
Up to DateIntelligent
Unique
2011
StraightforwardGood ValueTrustworthy
FriendlyCares about Customers
ReliableHelpful
Responsible
+
Amazon was ranked among the top 10% of all US brands at the turn of the millenium, noted for its refreshing, ener-gized qualities. And yet, over ten years later, Amazon still retains those qualities but has the added bonus of now being steadfast and trustworthy. Oh, and it’s still in the top 10% of all US brands.
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1999 2011
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BAV can help your brand stay relevant by providing data to build your brand's strength, resilience, and stamina to win big in the marketplace.
BAV is a brand management tool with 72 universal metrics, the ability to not only be diagnostic but prescriptive, and provides insights about how to build stronger brands.
BAV looks at brands beyond the confines of their categories to identify and understand the roles they play in our culture, in order to build a strategic framework that helps drive marketplace performance.
yr.com/bav
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