Category Archives: Brand Failure
Hindustan Motors : A struggle for survival
The case study is about Hindustan Motors, an automobile manufacturer from India. It is part of the Birla group of industries. The company was the largest car manufacturer in India before the rise of Maruti Udyog (MUL).It is the producer [...]
Filed under Brand Failure, Marketing
Extension Failure: Virgin cola
Many brands fail when they move into inappropriate categories. For instance, Harley Davidson Perfume proved to be an extension too far. Virgin, however, is one company that seems to be able to apply its brand name to anything. Although Richard [...]
Filed under Brand Equity, Brand Failure, Brand Identity, Marketing
Technology Failure: IBM Linux grafitti
The company took part in an event called the Cow Parade in which cows were decorated according to different themes. Yahoo!’s ‘udderly moovelous’ (as it put it in a press release) pair of purple plastic cows were installed with an [...]
Filed under Advertising, Brand Failure, Marketing
Idea Falure: RJ Reynold's Smokeless Cigarettes
Cigarette manufacturers have often thought that the best way to build market share is to come up with new twists on the standard cigarette formula. For instance, Marlboro has had dozens of different varieties in its history, including Marlboro Menthol, [...]
Filed under Brand Failure, Brand Management, Marketing
Brand Failure : Quaker Oat
In 1994, food giant the Quaker Oats Company bought a quirky soft-drink brand called Snapple for US $1.7 billion. The company felt confident that the drink brand was worth the price tag, because they had already achieved an astounding success [...]
Filed under Brand Failure, Marketing
Technical Failure : Intel Pentium Chip
In 1997, a professor of mathematics found a glitch in Intel’s Pentium chip. He discovered that the mathematical functions for the chip’s complicated formula were not consistently accurate. The professor decided to send an article about his findings to a [...]
Filed under Brand Failure, Marketing
Rebranding Failure: Consignia
When the UK state-owned Post Office Group decided to change its brand identity, a new name was the first on the shopping list. The reason for the brand makeover was partly to do with the fact that the 300-year-old Post [...]
Filed under Brand Failure, Marketing
Technical Failure : Dell Web PC
In late 1999, computer manufacturer Dell launched the Web PC. The computer was small (a mere ten inches in height) and came in five different colours. The aim of the computer was to simplify the experience of surfing the Internet, [...]
Filed under Brand Failure, Marketing