The document outlines seven types of branding failures that companies can encounter, including idea, extension, PR, culture, people, rebranding, and technology failures. It uses case studies from brands like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and British Airways to illustrate the consequences of poor branding decisions and misalignment with market needs. The text emphasizes the importance of thorough research, culturally relevant strategies, and effective crisis management to prevent brand failures.

1. Seven Deadly Kinds
of Branding Failures
Know branding mistakes before you
make them!
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2. It’s established – brands do
commit suicide or are killed.
O When the sales of a
product are
flagging, it’s not the
product but the
brand that is failing.
O So many brands
meet an untimely
death, often on an
embarrassing note
for the companies.
Just google “epic brand failures of all
time” and you’ll see why.
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4. 1. Idea Failures
O Sometimes brands
fail simply because
of a bad idea or an
improperly thought
out/not wellresearched idea.
O Like Pepsi AM for
instance.
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5. Pepsi found out that there are
many consumers who drank
colas for breakfast.
O Without
comprehensive
market research,
Pepsi assumed that it
has unearthed an
unexploited consumer
base that drank
caffeinated cola for
breakfast instead of
coffee.
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O That gave Pepsi an
idea – a rather BAD
IDEA.
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6. What Pepsi didn’t know was
that although some consumers
drank Pepsi in the morning,
there was no special demand
for a breakfast sub-brand.
Customers simply didn’t think they needed it.
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7. If a consumer doesn’t know he has a need, it’s
hard to offer a solution.
Robert M. McMath
Brand expert and writer
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8. Pepsi learnt it the hard way.
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9. 2. Extension Failures
Extension
the “addition of a new
product to an already
established line of
products under the same
name”
Often, companies try to leverage the reputation of their already
well established brand name to sell a different product.
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10. For instance:
Coca-Cola’s diet coke
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Pond’s toothpaste
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11. It’s not necessary that the
success of one product would
guarantee the success of
another.
Learn this from Harley Davidson.
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14. If you have a powerful perception for one class of
product, it becomes almost impossible to extend
that perception to a different class.
Al Ries
Marketing writer
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15. The sooner businesses realize
this, the better!
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16. 3. PR Failures
O It is taken that brands
will face at least one
crisis during their run.
O Companies need to
be ready with the
right PR strategy and
the right answers if at
all their product or
brand gets negative
media attention.
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O While some
companies manage
such crises
gracefully, others
simply make
matters worse.
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17. Gerber, a German
manufacturer of baby food had
a PR debacle in 1986.
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19. In these days of active communication and social media transparency,
companies need to take responsibility for their products and strengthen
their PR. Not doing so will only spell doom not only for the brand but
also the company.
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20. 4. Culture Failures
O In this era of globalization, it isn’t
necessary that what works in one culture
will do so in another.
O Brands need to cater to the requirements
of each market they enter.
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21. Accuprosys.com
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22. Kellogg’s is the most
consumed cereal brand across
the world.
The company
reached an all-time
peak in 1980s in the
US, with a 40% stake
in the ready-to-eat
market.
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O With increasing
competition,
Kellogg’s sought
expansion beyond
its traditional US
and European
markets.
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23. With increasing competition,
Kellogg’s sought expansion beyond its
traditional US and European markets.
O It soon decided that
India is a suitable
market and
launched its
subbrand
Cornflakes with a
US $65 million
investment.
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24. But in India, breakfast cereal
was an entirely new concept.
VS.
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25. Moreover, the product was pretty
expensive for Indian consumers when
compared to homemade breakfast.
O Unwilling to accept
failure, the
company launched
other products
tailored to suit
indigenous tastes.
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O It has ever since
had a tough ride in
India.
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26. 5. People Failures
O Planet Hollywood, a
hotel venture, was a
unique brand with a
grand launch.
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27. It is one of the most famous
celebrity backed ventures
with high profile investors
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29. The Company’s Faults
O It was expanding too quickly
O It was launching new branches even before
the already existing ones started making
profits
O It didn’t advertise its food and was rather
banking on the celebrity status of its investors
O It didn’t tie its theme to its core product and
simply relied on celebrity
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30. Other such brand failures
include Fashion Café,
Ratner’s and Hear’Say.
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31. 6. Rebranding Failures
O British Airways is
one of the biggest
rebranding failures.
O It started an
expensive
rebranding strategy
in 1996.
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O Soon afterwards it
announced its costsaving
redundancies that
contrasted with its
costly makeover
and rebranding.
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32. It redid the tail-fins of its airlines,
abandoning the Union Jack colors to
give it a more international identity.
O The fact that the
“British” airways
didn’t look “British”
anymore did not go
well with customers!
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33. 7. Internet and New
Technology Failures
O A glitch was
discovered in Intel’s
Pentium Chip by a
mathematics
professor.
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O This news spread
like wildfire but Intel
denied that its chips
had a problem.
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35. Intel’s inappropriate
response (or the lack of it)
to online criticism marred
its online reputation.
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36. It is imperative for
companies to respond
quickly, acknowledge
online criticism, and
monitor critics if they wish
to maintain the reputation
of their brand.
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