With Toyota’s recall and Comcast’s announcement that they are rebranding themselves as Xfinity I figured I’d take some time and explore the idea of damage control advertising. It’s nothing new. The Emancipation Proclamation was a part of Lincoln’s re-branding campaign; it was his effort to rebrand the war and get public opinion back on his side. It might have started in politics but quickly moved into corporate advertising when corporations like Phillip Morris decided a name change was necessary to get rid of their bad press. More recently some of the major banks have had name changes in an attempt to avoid ongoing public scrutiny. It can work on rare occasions but often times it’s just desperate. (As Shown in CNN’s list of worst rebranding mistakes)
Xfinity came about because Comcast has lost over half a million customers in the last year to Dish network and other satellites. Where they once had a tight grip what goes to your TV., they are letting a lot of customers slip through their fingers. A smart CEO would notice that they have a long list of complaints against them and constant stream of bad PR, and decide they need to make their service better and build a campaign around renewed interest in their customer base like Dominos has. For whatever reason, the management at Comcast decided to blame it on their brand name. A lot of big companies use their advertising companies as scapegoats when numbers go down. A great ad campaign can do wonders but it isn’t magic. If you have competition and your competition is doing what you do better, they’re going to take your business, that’s capitalism.
Damage control doesn’t have to necessitate a name change. Tylenol didn’t change its name despite tons of bad press in the 80s. They focused their PR campaign on improving safety regulations and it turned out well for them in the long run. Coco-Cola only slightly changed their name after the New Coke debacle to Coke Classic and it helped their product immensely and gave them a rejuvenated brand. Ultimately renaming your brand as a form of damage control is at best a quick fix and at worst a Hail Mary, last ditch effort so salvage your reputation. It might spike sales but it isn’t going to fix any problems.
Renaming your brand really only works when you are doing a complete overhaul. When The Nashville Network decided people didn’t tune in to fishing shows 3 times a day they changed their name to Spike TV and focused on a wider range on male viewers. Kentucky Fried Chicken decided they wanted to be more competitive with Burger King and McDonald’s. To hammer home their new direction they officially changed their name to KFC. Bandai Toys recently announced plans for a similar process moving away from creating knock Japanese cartoon action figures and focusing on toys for toddlers. The trick to renaming your brand is to make sure people know it’s a new beginning. Otherwise you are just calling attention to the fact that you are doing damage control.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0515328620100209
www.broadcastingcable.com/article/447481-Comcast_To_Launch_Xfinity_Rebranding_Campaign
www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/comcast-xfinity-company-t_n_449088
Last 5 posts by joshuasinason
- Twitter Offering Regional Targeted Ads and Becoming The Place For Social Media Marketing in 2012 - January 20th, 2012
- Social Media Aspects That Failed in 2011 But Could Explode In 2012 - January 3rd, 2012
- The State of Streaming Video in 2012 - December 21st, 2011
- Gearing Social Media To Sports Fans - December 9th, 2011
- Take A Lesson From The Muppets: Kermit The Frog and Social Media - November 22nd, 2011
Digg This
Delicious
Facebook
StumbleUpon
How is Dish customer support soooo bad?
I am not sure I agree 100%. But I know that Dish Network customer service sucks! I’ve been upon the phone now almost 30 minutes and I’ve no one in order to complain at other than darn message boards I’m reading. I must obtain a existence
Oh Man….i cannot believe that i stumbled onto your piece of writing so quickly…LOL…..It was just what i was loking for….Thanks so much
Hmmm.. now that Ben Stein, Comcast/Xfinity’s appointed “Smartest” man has spoken about the sins and foibles of the low-life unemployed, how many of us do you think will hear about it on cable tv? yeah, i din’t think so either. (“long live the Borg. Resistance is futile…”)
Excellent article it is surely. My teacher has been awaiting for this tips. I also like the design was this a free theme or a pay one?
I don’t agree with this particular blog post. Even so, I did searched in Yahoo and I have found out you are right and I had been thinking in the improper way. Continue producing top quality content like this.
Keep up the good piece of work, I read few articles on this web site and I think that your weblog is real interesting and holds bands of good information
I am also commenting to let you be aware of of the beneficial experience my child enjoyed browsing your blog. She picked up numerous pieces, with the inclusion of how it is like to have an excellent giving character to have the others with no trouble grasp chosen multifaceted things. You actually did more than my expected results. Thank you for providing the insightful, healthy, revealing and as well as cool tips on your topic to Janet Buscador de peliculas.
F*ckin¡¦ remarkable issues here. I¡¦m very happy to see your article. Thank you so much and i’m looking forward to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a mail? Telegrafi
I like the valuable information you supply for your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check again here regularly. I’m rather sure I’ll be told many new stuff proper right here! Best of luck for the following!
Hello, you used to write fantastic, but the last several posts have been kinda boring… I miss your great writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
I purchased this power tool many months ago. I enjoy it. My Father-in-Law can’t keep his fingers off of it! We certainly have used it repeatedly since paying for it and has lived up to all expectations.
Those seemingly interminable dark walks between houses, long before street-lit safety became an issue, were more adrenalizing than the mountains of candy filling the sack. Sadly Halloween, with our good-natured attempts to protect the little ones, from the increasingly dangerous traffic and increasingly sick adults, has become an utter bore. ~Lauren Springer
Great post. Amazing ideas. I have bookmarked you.
Thanks for the info, I must bookmark your website for my reference
Hello, i think that i noticed you visited my blog so i came to ?return the prefer?.I am trying to find things to enhance my web site!I guess its ok to use some of your concepts!!
I’m typically to blogging and i really appreciate your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I am going to bookmark your site and preserve checking for new information.
You really allow it to be seem simple with an individual is presentation however I have this topic if you are really a feature that I think A totally free certainly in no way understand. It seems to be too complicated plus incredibly broad in my opinion. I will be excited for the post, I definitely try to help have the hang up the phone in the usb ports!
Exceptionally beneficial bless you, There’s no doubt that your current visitors would possibly want further stories like this maintain the good content. http://thehousefitness.fbmakemoney.com/
Hello there, You’ve done a great job. I will certainly digg it and in my view suggest to my friends. I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this website.