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Tom Dougherty's Opinions

Our esteemed branding company competitors. A sorry lot.

March 16, 2023

Our branding company competitors have no idea what they are doing. They are so clueless that they actually feature and brag about some of the worst excuses for rebranding we have ever seen. Here is just a few examples of the shoddy work:

 

Pizza Hut
Work by Deutsch LA is loosely considered one of our branding company competitors (a part of Omnicom) Pizza Hut is in desperate need of a rebrand (you can read about the problem here as we have written extensively on the pizza category). In shorthand, Pizza Hut has no problem with awareness. But they have a BIG problem with preference.

No matter what they have tried, they can’t get beyond the $10 price barrier. If they charge $11 bucks, Pizza Hut buyers go to one of the many pizza shop competitors who are still at $10. They NEED customers to prefer Pizza Hut over other competitors regardless of the special coupon or premium add-ons like free soda or some innocuous pizza-dough concocted dessert. So, what did Pizza Hut do? They hired an ad agency to rebrand them.

What did they get in return? A new logo, TV commercials and a continued reliance on coupons and the $10 ceiling still in place. No increased preference.

 

American Airlines (Excuse me… The NEW American Airlines)
Work done by Future Brand. (Part of Omnicom. Seems like a pattern is developing amongst our branding company competitors.) American Airlines merged with (or bought, depending on your whim) US Airways.

All of the US carriers suck, and everyone hates them and the experience of flying. With a merger of this size, there WAS an opportunity to redefine what an airline should be and why WE should care. That’s not what happened. Just slap on a new logo, add NEW to the brand and claim all the table stakes already claimed by ALL the other competitors.

On-time service, caring about the customers, nice roomy business class and a GREAT affinity program remain the supposed switching triggers. What did they get in return? A new logo, new TV commercials and a continued reliance on captive routes and limited choices. And they got a great new theme! “The largest Airline in the World.” God knows.

That’s why I fly them!

 

Kraft Mac & Cheese (more like… Kraft & maybe cheese)
Work done by Landor (NOT a part of Omnicom, for a change). Kraft Foods still dominates the boxed prepared macaroni and cheese market. But, according to Landor, it was losing share because the color palette was being hijacked by private label brands. What this means is that Landor and Kraft believe the buying public are idiots and don’t know the difference.

By their logic, consumers buy the private label brands because they think they are actually Kraft.

We’re sure it has nothing to do with shoppers knowing there is little difference for Kraft’s higher price. In other words…Kraft has a PREFERENCE problem! Enter Landor. Just slap on a new logo, and add a smile made out of macaroni to make the brand FRIENDLIER You just can’t make this stuff up.

 

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