Brand Resurrection – A New Life
When an existing brand name is still well-known, revitalising that brand may be a more cost-effective option than launching a new one
Yezdi
Polaroid
Jawa
VW Beetle
Rol – a-Cola
All are well-loved, once-popular brands that vanished from store shelves and were then resurrected.
Despite the fact that these names may live on in our hearts and minds, it’s apparent that they’re long gone from the market. But bringing back a brand that hasn’t been used in a while may be a smart business move and a quick way to make a lasting connection with customers, as may be the case with Campa Cola.
This alludes to the fact that brands come and go but stick around in our minds and hearts forever. While the names may be gone, valuable equity remains. These brands’ new owners can capitalise on their established relationships with consumers by investing in marketing and re-engaging with the brand’s existing fan base. Is there a formula for revitalising a moribund brand?
It’s old news that nostalgia serves as a marketing tool. Evidence of this may be seen in people’s rekindled enthusiasm. We always look at anything that may be carried forward from the past. This is what makes retro cool again. This helped the Volkswagen Beetle (in its second avatar) or even Rol-A-Cola. Nostalgia is an emotion which can loosen purses, especially in the older generation who have been exposed to the brand before.
Important points to consider:
- There must be significant awareness and love/warmth for the brand. This criterion is met by Campa Cola. Many people, particularly those of a certain age, have fond memories of drinking Campa Cola.
- The brand has established good associations that may be expanded upon in the current market. Take the case of Jawa, which can extend its brand and product properties to the younger generation.
- There needs to be a niche in the market. People are probably still on the lookout for Colas, but how popular Campa Cola ends up becoming is anyone’s guess.
- An effective narrative is crucial to a revived brand’s success. The ability to create enduring bonds of trust and loyalty with customers depends on telling compelling stories. But the backstory must also be modernised to revive a dormant brand. One company that achieved this was Polaroid, which revived some of its instant analogue camera products and embraced digital photography, wireless technology, etc.
- The new owner of a failed business must learn from the past and avoid making the same errors. Campa Cola has to abandon its old (failed) business practices and adopt new ones.
- Consumers must feel the “strength” of the brand in order for its rebirth to be successful. Otherwise, the revival will fail, at best, and may sputter along.
When companies try to revitalise their brands, they often fail. Consumers have likely moved on, despite their long memories and positive recollections. Brands that have been revitalised need to attract new customers, some of whom may have never heard of the company before. Reviving a brand successfully requires an investment of time, money, and dedication to avoid repeating past mistakes.
You know a brand isn’t performing well when you attempt to bring it back into circulation via brand resurrection. That’s some heavy dirt the company has to scrub off its name. The audience that is still aware of you and follows you after you’ve stopped promoting yourself is usually not your primary demographic anymore.
Compared to a well-established name, a new one may seem less trustworthy because of its lack of history and track record, or even dangerous because of its perceived inexperience. It’s possible that an established brand has a solid reputation with its target audience but has remained inactive for strategic or practical reasons. Brand revitalization seems like a sensible strategy in this situation.
Definitely, it won’t be easy. Fans of the brand, which debuted in the 1980s, have moved on, and newer consumers have no memory of it.
There is also the fact that young people in the metros are moving away from colas & other carbonated drinks, preferring healthier drinks like juices or niche products like mixers and mocktails instead. Also, soft drinks are an impulse category and need huge amounts of marketing impetus or resources for sales to happen.
Companies may be excited to bring back defunct brands in the hope there is some saliency. However, what matters more for positioning the revitalised brand is the degree to which its saliency will help in creating a significant difference. To add insult to injury, young people today may not even know about some well-known brands from their parents’ time.
It’s important to remember that a revived brand’s initial success might be due to the nostalgia of a certain generational group, but that the brand’s sustained success would rely on its significance to the younger generations.
Till then, let’s give it to the old “new’ brands.
References
https://hbr.org/2021/12/4-elements-of-a-successful-brand-refresh
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