Taking a Cue from Reality TV: Is it Time to Pimp Your Brand? 2005 Qtr 4
No matter what your personal view of reality TV is, it’s hard to dispute its popularity. From “Survivor” to “The Apprentice,” they seem to strike a chord with viewers. So, is there something brand marketers can learn from reality TV? Does it serve as a metaphor for how to keep your brand fresh and vibrant? In other words, is it time to pimp your brand?
The premise of many reality TV shows is ordinary people (amateurs, in a sense) confronting unusual challenges, and being judged by the “experts.” Or, the set–up can be the “experts” racing to beat the clock to save the hapless ordinary folks from their fate (living in a fashion disaster of a house or a wardrobe, driving an old junker car, etc.).
Let’s take a closer look at the latter variation, where the “experts” come to the rescue.
The experts usually arrive in some version of either a swat team ready to do battle, a medical team ready to do the complete makeover, or the knowledgeable professionals with a wacky sense of humor (often at your expense) ready to transform your home, your closet or your ride. In your dreams. Then they gallop off into the sunset to save the next hapless fashion victim.
It makes great entertainment, but it may not be the best approach to building your brand. Superficial makeovers often do more harm than good (think about Detroit cars in the ‘50s with those huge fins). Superficial brand makeovers rarely work, for the simple reason that customers are pretty good at looking past the gloss and getting to the essence of the value proposition — especially in B2B environments.
Plus, brands don’t exist in a vacuum. They have history. Tradition. Context. Authenticity. They require careful stewardship, not makeovers.
For example, one company we know had a new manager who decided the brand needed a little spicing up, and insisted that the brand color be changed to “give it more life.” Now, it’s often necessary to revitalize a brand. But arbitrary decisions are often not the right ones. Fortunately, the marketing folks had the research to prove that this decades old brand was universally recognized and associated with its strong, conservative color. They resisted the pressure to pimp their brand. And here’s the rest of the story: the manager rode off into the sunset to “help” another company.
Packaging and logos are other frequent targets of “pimping the brand.” But, this doesn’t mean that you should never change. In fact, Whirlpool Corporation proudly displays its progression of corporate logos spanning more than a century to show not only its evolution, but also its commitment to a common vision and purpose.
In brand building, there really are no silver bullets. Trying to pimp your brand is the equivalent of looking for a silver bullet. In fact, this approach often does more harm than good.
Perhaps we can learn something about how to be sure we’re not guilty of applying the reality TV approach to our brands by taking a page from the fine folks who make Guinness beer. They have been careful guardians of the brand going into its third century, so they most certainly know something about brand building for the long haul. And when they are reviewing any new advertising, packaging, merchandising or other branding touchpoint, they only ask one question: “Is it Guinness?”
Maybe it’s time we begin asking that question about our brands.
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