Brand euthanasia. Part 2

By Gonzalo López Martí – LMMIAMI.COM

Last week I ranted about the first leg of the two-pronged concept of “brand”: intellectual property.

• We discussed how the survival and profitability of a brand ultimately depends on its power to enforce IP.
• We pointed out how, for the most part, Intel Prop might be defunct due to the inability of global companies to enforce it in the parts of the world registering real consumer growth (Chindia).
• This week we will discuss the second leg of the concept of “brand”: a loose amalgamation of awareness, respectability, desirability and measurable purchase intent which we could call, say, reputation.
• In short: the moving parts we oversee in our job as marketers.
• Now then, to what extent is it in worth it in 2015 to lose sleep over the long term survival of the aforementioned issues?
• Publicly traded companies are slaves to the short term fickle appetites of investors.
• The average CMO only lasts 12 months or less in his or her job.
• Consumers have the attention span of a three-year old only child.
• Everything is a novelty.
• Loyalty is a thing of the past.
• Long term seems to be increasingly beside the point in modern-day marketing.
• We live in the age of instant brands.
• Popping up like mushrooms, overnight.
• And disappearing in the same fashion: blink and they are gone.
• Like SnapChat messages.
• One word: Blackberry.
• They originate under the radar and when the mainstream acknowledges their existence it usually is too late.
• Airbnb, Uber, SnapChat, Tesla, GoPro, Honest Tea, Chipotle, Beats by Dr. Dre, Under Armour.
• Kirkland FGDS!
• You gotta love those Costco buccaneers and the reckless abandon with which they deploy their ubiquitous house brand.
• There’s Kirkland vodka.
• There’s Kirkland olive oil.
• There’s Kirkland vitamin supplements.
• There’s Kirkland dog food (I kid you not).
• There’s Kirkland diapers.
• There’s Kirkland khaki pants for men.
• There’s Kirkland garden furniture.
• There’s Kirkland bedware & home décor.
• There’s Kirkland trash bags.
• There’s Kirkland Allergy relief (non-drowsy).
• Genius, f*****g genius.
• It’s called Kirkland Signature, to be precise.
• And I purchase it with my Univision debit card, of course.
• Hey, branding experts, what do you have to say about that?
• And don’t get me started about logos.
• Logos used to be sacred, untouchable.
• Companies used to have lengthy, painstakingly detailed corporate identity manuals akin to Papal dogma.
• Now, logos are dead.
• Google adds a nail to the coffin everyday.
• Those crazy search-engine lunatics holed up in their Mountain View lair change their logo every 24 hours.
• They don’t even call it a logo.
• Bastards call it a doodle.
• The gall!
• Twitter?
• They redesign the little bird every single time they update their software (once a month pretty much).
• Do you remember Uber’s logo?
• What about Beats by Dr. Dre’s?
• What does AirBnB’s logo look like?
• So.
• To wrap things up.
• What does the future hold for us?
• Let’s see:
• -death
• -taxes
• -Hollywood will keep making movies and TV shows called American something
• -what we call “The West” (US, Canada, Western Europe) has reached a consumption plateau: there simply isn’t more room in our digestive tracts, our garages or our credit card statements to shove more stuff
• -if we persist in pursuing business models solely based on volume, growth will inevitably come from Chindia,  Latin America, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia & the like
• -brands will keep coming out of the woodwork in droves & dying at breakneck speed
• However it doesn’t mean brand managers, graphic designers or corporate identity theoreticians will be out of work anytime soon.
• Quite the opposite.
• Keeping up will be the challenge.
• The life cycle will be a constant rollercoaster ride.
• Euthanize your brand (before others do it for you).
• Create a new one.
• Repeat.
• Brands are dead.
• Long live branding.