Posted on : 2022-11-27 20:08:56
Article : Good morning, Management Solution for the TASK 218- The rebrand should include a new purpose to create opportunities that offer everyone a seat at the table, that is meant to signal the brand’s ambition to create a more inclusive future.
Further to our Management TASK 218 part we state that when a company needs its products to be rebranded, it is essential that they need to go for a deep market research to understand the consumer perception on the new brand name or design or packing. The companies make sure that the rebranded products should do well than the original but at the same time they should be ready to accept in case of its failure and ready to correct their action.
MARs an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food and other food products is one of a number of companies to remove racial imagery from branding, in recent months in response to the “Black Lives Matter” protests fuelled by the killing of George Floyd and other black people in the US. Accordingly, now Mars is rebranding its Uncle Ben’s rice range following criticism that the name and image promoted racial stereotyping. The 70-year-old brand will change its name to Ben’s Original and drop the ‘uncle’ image of a black man in a bow tie. The rebrand also includes a new purpose, to ‘create opportunities that offer everyone a seat at the table’, meant to signal the brand’s ambition to create a more inclusive future. The move will see Uncle Ben is rebranded as Ben’s Original and the imagery of a black man in a bow tie removed from its packaging and marketing..
Since the 1940s, the Uncle Ben’s rice boxes have featured a white-haired black man, sometimes with a bow tie. Mars hopes the changes show it is committed to racial equality, with the rebrand coming alongside a move to improve inclusion and equity. Ben’s Original will run community outreach programmes to ensure that underserved communities have access to nutritious meals, while also helping cooks and chefs of all races gain education opportunities. This is the right thing to do for the brand and business to ensure that the company creates the truly inclusive future that everyone deserves..
In case of UTI Bank to Axis Bank is a thoughtful necessitated rebranding. Rather than paying royalty for the use of the brand name 'UTI' that was also used by some unrelated entities, the company decided to go for a brand name that was culture neutral and had a global appeal..
Similarly the rebranding of the popular Indian telecom brand 'Hutch' to 'Vodafone' after the world's leading telecom company by revenue Vodafone Plc. (Vodafone) acquired a controlling stake in one of the top telecom companies in India Hutchison Essar Ltd..
Both Axis Bank and Vodafone launched two of the most memorable and high-decibel campaigns to communicate their respective name changes. Axis Bank's campaign sought to reassure the bank's customers that nothing had really changed in the bank except its name, while Vodafone campaigns tried to leverage on some of the most popular earlier ads of Hutch to introduce the relatively unknown Vodafone brand..
While the above are the expected stories of success of rebranding of the product with brand name, there are many global brands that have faced the failures of rebranding and reverted to the original brand names within a short period. We are quoting one example below..
Pepsi has changed their logo multiple times over the course of their company history and hence it is no stranger to logo designs. Pepsi released the latest iteration of their logo in 2008, and most people have a hard time understanding why the company spent a million dollars to simply tweak their existing logo. Unfortunately, no one quite understood their branding strategy, and it turned out to be a failure. The white stripe on the new logo varies across Pepsi products, getting wider or thinner depending on product. The design team that spearheaded the campaign explains that they’re supposed to be “smiles,” but they don’t really look like it.” This failure of rebranding has costed Pepsi $ US 1 Million and for the group companies it has costed more than a billion..
End point- As we stated that branding and rebranding both are key marketing practices and it is the wisdom of the company’s top management to understand the need of rebranding and benefits that will gain by the rebranding act. If it is only logo colours or frequent packing design changes it is sure to lose the consumers recognition in the shelves..
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