Friday May 30, 2008

Gettin’ the brand back together

Around O|C, we like to think of brands as living, breathing beings. A dead brand is not something we like to imagine. But some companies across the U.S. are resurrecting dead brands.

A New York Times magazine piece by Rob Walker, highlights a Chicago Company, River West Brands, that aims to enliven brands such as Brim, a coffee brand once owned by General Foods that disappeared in the 1990s as part of various business dealings. River West Brands banks on the idea that people remember brands or (hope of hopes!) may not realize that a particular brand ever bit the dust. That means the company isn’t starting from scratch on building brand awareness like they would with a new brand. Alternatively, the company doesn’t have to pony up the cash to acquire a living, breathing brand with a similar level of familiarity.

River West Brands plans to revive the hair care line Salon Selectives (cue the “feel like you just stepped out of a salon” jingle that a good portion of the O|C team is now singing). But the company will tweak the product with things like new packaging and a slightly different scent. The idea is that by changing a classic (albeit formerly dead) brand, consumers will buy into the idea that it is new and improved rather than a zombie version of the original brand.

Walker’s piece also talks about how false memories associated with brands can benefit a company looking to bring a brand back to life. Researchers have found that when exposed to certain advertisements, study subjects were more likely to “recall” memories of events that never actually happened to them. Fascinating concept. Read Walker’s article to learn more about faulty consumer memory and to take a trip down memory lane for a preview of what brands might soon be headed back to store shelves.

Posted by Camden Easterling Swindell at 04:45 PM in Branding