How to Rejuvenate Your Brand

8/16/2019 How to Rejuvenate Your Brand

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RELEASE DATE: 9/11/2008

SOURCE: http://gmj.gallup.com

CONTACT: The Gallup Management Journal

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From time to time, many companies must confront a tough reality: The world haschanged, and consumers are seeking an experience that's markedly differentfrom what the company has been offering. Your company may be the first namein buggy whips, but now you're dealing with a marketplace that no longer needsthem. You may be famed for making spacious gas-guzzling SUVs, but car buyersare turning to hybrids and compact gas sippers. You may be selling dailynewspapers to readers who increasingly look to Web sites for their news.

Or your company may be a casual-

dining chain trying to succeed in acrowded and intenselycompetitive category where many

brands make similar promises.Familiar names are facingenormous challenges that threatentheir very existence. The parentcompany of Bennigan's has filedfor bankruptcy protection, sales atother chains are down, and TheCheesecake Factory reported a significant drop in same-store sales.

Can a downward sales spiral be reversed? What's a company to do?

Confronted with an audience that no longer appears to treasure what thecompany is offering, many marketers look first to their advertising. They knowthey need to change the way consumers think and feel about their brand and

what they have to offer, so they look to their consumer communications for thesolution. To address disappointing sales, Applebee's changed its advertising,launching a new TV campaign that featured a talking apple. In like manner,Chili's also changed its ads. And yet, in spite of the new high-profile ad

How to Rejuvenate Your Brand

Changing a brand promise involves a lot more than altering youradvertising

by William J. McEwen

Author of Married to the Brand (Gallup Press, 2005) and coauthor of the

Harvard Business Review article "Inside the Mind of the Chinese Consumer"

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campaigns that first aired last fall, sales at both chains have reportedly continuedtheir slump.

Maybe advertising isn't the answer, whether you're selling casual dining, SUVs,or daily papers. Maybe it's not just about the promise; maybe it's also about thedelivery.

Changing more than the ads

Having apparently learned a lesson from its casual-dining competitors, RubyTuesday has taken a more dramatic step, announcing that it's blowing up its oldformat and creating "a brand-new Ruby Tuesday." The company has changed thedécor in its 900+ stores, replacing its previous interiors -- crammed with Tiffanylamps, movie posters, and hanging bicycles -- with a clean, uncluttered modernlook. And beyond changing the physical appearance of its stores, Ruby Tuesdayhas also revised its menu and its promise, moving from what was a "bar and grill"theme to a new focus on what it has termed "simple, fresh, American dining."

Ruby Tuesday, unlike Chili's or Applebee's, is undertaking a considerably moreambitious and challenging task -- one that requires a pervasive company

commitment. Ruby Tuesday isn't just changing its advertising promise; it'sredefining the customer experience. Ruby Tuesday's repositioning is one that'ssupported not just by new advertising (promotion) but also by a discerniblydifferent place and product.

Of course, there's another important "P" that must be taken into consideration,and that's the people who will be called upon to deliver the new Ruby Tuesday

brand experience. While it's relatively easy to change staff uniforms in much thesame manner as the company can change its interior fixtures, it's quite anotherthing to alter the manner in which the employees actually live the brand.

So that's another challenge that faces any company seeking to embrace what it believes will be the path to revitalized performance. That challenge centers on theall-important "brand ambassadors" who will be the ones delivering the menuitems and, more importantly, helping to define and enhance the customer's

brand experience. (See "Who Are Your Promise Keepers?" in the "See Also" areaon this page.)

In recognition of this added challenge, Ruby Tuesday needs to get the company's brand ambassadors in alignment, living the new brand promise every bit as muchas the company's redesigned décor and the new menu. Ruby Tuesday will berelying on its employees to deliver something noticeably different from the old

"bar and grill" experience -- one that will further fulfill and reinforce thecompany's new brand promise. (See "The Power of the Fifth P" in the "See Also"area on this page.)

Start from the beginning

There's yet another consideration for Ruby Tuesday -- or for any company aimingto occupy a new and redefined position in the hearts and minds of consumers.It's important to note that Ruby Tuesday isn't starting down this new path with atotally blank slate. Ruby Tuesday isn't a new brand, and like many a familiar

brand, it already has an established image. The existing Ruby Tuesday brand

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image cannot simply be ignored, and the company must consider the extent to which the intended new image ("simple, fresh") represents a reasonably strong fit with the image that already exists.

As marketers look to theirultimate destination, they mustalways look first to their startingpoint. If the end appears to be a

sharp disconnect from the start,that's a huge barrier that can't beovercome in one fiscal quarter (ortwo or three).

As we've discussed in previous GMJ articles, any brand promise must overcomethree important hurdles. The foundational hurdle is one of credibility. Before the

brand can hope to connect with a prospect or reconnect with a lapsed customer,its promise must be deemed credible. Credibility takes into account what theconsumer already thinks of your brand, and that determines in large part theconsumer's receptivity to a new, redefined promise.

VW was unable to successfully launch the luxury Phaeton in the United States --not because the product wasn't terrific and the promise had no appeal. Rather, it

was because VW's well-established brand image and the perception of the VWdealer experience didn't credibly translate into the world of luxury. VW's imagedidn't support the promise of its upscale Phaeton offering. (See "Stretching theBrand Until it Breaks?" in the "See Also" area on this page.)

Change takes time

As Ruby Tuesday embarks on the creation of an entirely new brand promise,there's one more item for customers and investors to consider. The company may

spend a good deal of money memorably communicating its new promise to theintended audience. It may support that promise with a redesigned andreinvigorated brand experience that includes how the brand looks, how it smellsand tastes, and even how it feels.

Ruby Tuesday may align an entire laundry list of marketing "Ps" that includespeople, product, place, price, and promotion, as well as process and policy. Butthere's one final "P," and without it, there will be no success. It's a "P" that may

be in short supply among marketers who are asked to support the wisdom oftheir decisions based on next Monday morning's sales report. That "P" ispatience.

A brand's marketplace position isn't just a reflection of a company's intentions. What really matters are consumers and how they view the brand. Gettingconsumers to accept and embrace a redefined brand promise isn't something thatcan be achieved overnight. Images are slow to change and, in truth, fight againstchange. That's part of their value: They're enduring. So companies that seek toredefine what they mean to consumers must confront the fact that change won'thappen nearly as quickly as the company might hope.

Brands can't change their image, their meaning, and their essential DNA on a whim, nor can they expect turnaround business results as an immediate

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consequence. Short-lived brand redefinitions will not result in an enduringlyestablished position nor in sustainable business results. Consumers need to know

what the brand truly stands for, not just for the coming few weeks, but for the years to come.

Ruby Tuesday, unlike a good many of its competitors, has recognized the fact thata redefined brand positioning cannot be undertaken lightly, nor pursued half-heartedly. And, like many a journey, the destination isn't reached in a single step.

But that's where it must begin.

William J. McEwen, Ph.D., is Global Practice Leader for Gallup's BrandManagement practice. He is the author of Married to the Brand (Gallup Press,2005) and coauthor of the Harvard Business Review article "Inside the Mind ofthe Chinese Consumer."

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