Not Just  An Orange Juice

I came across a very interesting story of a branding exercise from a leading brand gone surprisingly wrong which set me thinking as to how difficult it is   to fathom customers’ interpretations of  a brand, their acceptability towards change, their emotions towards a product and that even a few subtle changes in packaging may sometimes lead to major customer shifts and loss in market share.

The Importance of Packaging 

First I wish to write very briefly the importance of packaging in a branding or marketing exercise, before I come to the main story. Packaging is the first impression. Before even using the product, the consumers  meet the packaging first. Hence a good packaging has a positive impact on the consumers and helps them in decision making when it comes to buying and eventually using the product. A bad packaging might just lead to the opposite. 

Packaging, apart from being a protective covering on the product to keep it secured from spoilage and spillage  is also a strong  medium through which  the product characteristics are conveyed. Not only the qualities of the product but also it’s differentiating factors are strategically put on the packaging. Packaging also helps the brand communicate with the consumers and pull their attention. A well laid out packaging   can be very impactful and may have a positive effect on the consumer. Packaging is no less than the first level of advertising.

Tropicana & its Rebranding Strategy 

Tropicana, based out of Chicago was founded in 1947 and is one of the  biggest Fruit Juice Brands in the world. In 2008, Tropicana decided to go in for a rebranding strategy and introduced its new packaging. From an orange pierced by a straw the artwork was changed to a glass filled with orange juice. The ‘ 100%  pure and natural orange juice’ characteristic remained on the cover unchanged. However the ‘ Pure Premium ‘ tag line which was prominently displayed in the older version was slightly reduced in size and put on the sides.

The new packaged branding by Tropicana did not go down well with its consumers. Sales began to diminish and the company had to bear the brunt of a 20% decline in sales in a few days post the nebranding exercise. 

Tropicana lost heavily on the rebranding and a few of the major    reasons leading to it are listed below.

1. Over the years the consumers had established a deep connect with the Orange pierced with a straw.  Finding that image missing on the packaging led to an emotional disconnect from the brand. Consumers just didn’t like it. They could not identify the rebranding on the packaging with the Tropicana they were used to. This led to the brand alienating itself from the consumers.

2. The rebranding was done to appeal to the health conscious segment. However, the initial tag line ‘Pure Premium’ was difficult to find on the packaging. It had been placed on the sides. The Purity factor was just not enforceable as it was in the older case. Also the virtual invisibility of Pure Premium led to the impression that there was nothing Premium about the brand any more and it had moved to a cheaper bracket. 

Some Learnings

Tropicana withdrew the rebranding exercise in just a month and reverted back to its older theme. It is always difficult to anticipate consumer behaviour and particularly it is very difficult to measure the emotional bonding consumers develop with a brand. Tropicana found this out the hard way. 

Contemplating  change in an established, successful strategy is a risky affair and should be carried out after a very thorough assessment of the market and particularly  the likes and dislikes of the consumers. They need to be taken on board. Infact my view is that in popular brands let the loyal customers themselves decide the course of their brand.

From the Tropicana example, it has to be said that It’s a complex world out there, even in the case of the simple   Orange Juice.