Brand Extensions in 2007, Bad and Good
Brandweek magazine published the results of an online survey of its readers to determine the best and worst brand extensions (when companies create new branded products that extend their core products).
Here are the worst overall:
Precious Moments coffins
Humane Society Dog Lovers Wine Club
Girls Gone Wild apparel
The worst food brand extensions:
Hooters energy drink
Bumble Bee Prime Fillet chicken breasts
Trump steaks
The best overall were:
PetSmart PetsHotel
Huggies Little Swimmers sunscreen
Disney’s Fairy Tale wedding gowns
American Idol camp
Click here for the complete article.
The Business of LeBron James
Here’s an article from Fortune Magazine about the development of the business side of LeBron James. He has changed the rules of superstar athlete endorsement deals. He owns the company with childhood friends and conducts market research to test the pulse of his brand. According to the article, following last season’s playoff performance, especially Game 5 against the Pistons, Nike restructured their basketball division to increase the number of Nike staffers working on LeBron’s brand from 4 to 150.
Zombie Brands
There’s a recent piece in Slate.com about marketers’ penchant to resurrect old and dead brands like a horde of zombies:
Last October, few tears were shed when Ford ended production of the Taurus. The unlovely, workhorse sedan had been the company’s best-selling unit for much of the 1990s, mostly because of huge sales to rental-car companies. Shutting down production was a sign that Ford, in the midst of a serious restructuring, was looking to the future. But then in February, Ford announced that it would resume producing a car with the Taurus nameplate in the summer of 2007. continue reading
There has even been a follow-up, a return of the zombie brands article.