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August 06, 2004
Fast Company Better Brand Contest - Part I
Found this on Fouroboros, Fast Company did a contest on how to make 15 brands better (for which we got an honorable mention). The 15 brands are Barbie, Brooks Brothers, Fast Company, Kmart, Martha Stewart, McDonald's, Microsoft, Office Depot, Old Navy, Radio Shack, Starbucks, Tide, Tiffany's, The United States of America and Virgin. You can focus on one or do them all.
Heck, we figured there's nothing the Marketing Playbook System can't handle. So, we couldn't help ourselves, we decided to enter and to do them all. We just had to look at the ABCs, gap analysis of each one of these brands. It was fun. Three common themes arose: decide what you really stand for and do that, get back to your basics and refresh/embrace them more fully, or expand what you are already doing well to new areas.
Here's what we had to say, in 5 parts:
Brand 1. Barbie - Boutros-Boutros Barbie.
A. Yes, Barbie is a huge brand with awe-inspiring longevity.
B. But, is she really the great kids will hope to grow up to be?
- For all the "dolls of the world" and Career Barbies, her image remains superficial and materialistic.
- She's the "Everything Girl." Everything pretty and nicely dressed, that is.
C. So, stay cute but become someone kids that inspires kids to strive for greatness.
- Be more like "Legally Blond" - beautiful and perfectly accessorized but a fighter for what is right.
- Embrace a bigger set of values. Be more active, involved, responsible and ethical and invite kids and parents to participate.
- Barbie as Aid Worker, Charitable Girl , Barbie Foundation, Barbie University, Barbie World Schools, Barbie Womens Rights Around the World. Go Barbie and all You Girls Who Love Her. Save the World. You Can Do It!
Brand 2. Brooks Brothers - Grown Up Garanimals
A. Yes, it's a great, long lasting clothing brand, with great, classic quality (I love their no iron shirts!), that you can always rely on.
B. But, they're stuck between stodgy (for your Dad) and hip, slick (for emaciated models in the NYT Sunday Magazine), and between snobby boutiques and massive department stores/warehouses.
C. So, Dress By Numbers For Serious Businesspeople
- Appeal to the majority of business people esp. men who need to look good but who suck at dressing ourselves
- Make it super simple for everyone to always look professional
- Be the antidote to being overwhelmed by the selection of men?s warehouse or intimated/put off by the queer eyes for the straight guys at Barney's
- Take a cue from Garanimals, the kids clothing brand with a color coded system for mixing and matching outfits. Provide a simple, can't fail business dress system using great Brooks Brothers Brand clothes.
- And once you're personally sized and flesh/eye/hair color schemed at a Brooks Brothers store subscribe to this system online with a personal-business-meeting-requirements configurator a la Blue Nile for Rings.
Click here for the next set of brands.
Posted by johnza at August 6, 2004 10:42 PM
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