Branding : The Delicate Challenge

Branding is an extremely critical part of  a product’s success and there are several examples of befitting and brilliant branding strategies which have led to massive gains for companies,  be  it  market share, customer loyalty and over flowing cash registers. However, if the branding goes awry, the effects are equally disastrous and telling. A strategy gone amiss may unleash a beast which could  be difficult to reign in. There are several examples of such misadventures which leave in their trail a lot to study and learn from and have motivated me to write this post today.

Colgate

I have picked up a very interesting example of one of the biggest brands in the world today, ‘ Colgate ‘. It’s a household name with a massive market share in the world. The brand is synonymous with toothpaste and to take it further with Oral hygiene. It is said that almost half of the world uses Colgate in some form or  the other. The story dates back to the 1980s when Colgate was passing through a phase of strategic restructuring internally for  a more tenacious and cohesive organisation in the long run. With this internal upheaval going on, Colgate facing stiff competition from Procter & Gamble in the personal care segment, started falling behind. 

Colgate Kitchen Entrees

To counter this challenge from Procter & Gamble, Colgate decided to leverage the already powerful ‘Colgate’ brand and extend its  product  line under the brand. The idea was good and the intent understandable, Colgate launched its Colgate Kitchen Entrees a range of Frozen Food products targeted at working mothers and students in 1982. The strategists at Colgate felt that the strength of the brand would rub off on the new Frozen food product and that the consumer would be able to correlate frozen food with oral hygiene . However such a premise fell flat as the consumers thought otherwise.

The Uncomfortable Consumer

Colgate toothpaste, tooth brush and mouthwash just could not mingle with Colgate  Frozen Food. The wired mind of the consumer was just unable to see both products in unison  and felt a genuine unease in buying and using the two products together. There was utter confusion on the branding and the Frozen Food venture failed for  Colgate. The impact was such that sales started dipping even for the Oral hygiene products and Colgate had to immediately shut off the  Frozen Food venture.

Brand extension is nothing new and has been done successfully over the years, milking existing and powerful brand equities. However the choice of product is critical when it comes to brand extensions and therefore despite the right intentions and a powerful brand, Colgate’s Kitchen Entrees backfired, because the consumers so strongly associated the brand to tooth paste . Since then Colgate has stuck to what it was doing best and has been a world leader in oral hygiene.

In hindsight  the Frozen Food Venture might  have survived with a different brand name and it has to said that unfortunately the strength of the  Colgate brand became its vulnerability and weakness, is so cruel a reality when it comes to branding. 

There cannot be ‘one fit suits all’ strategy and therefore  branding is an extremely  delicate and challenging exercise…is a lesson learnt.