By Michelle Drewek
Digital Media Manager, Lessiter Media
Mdrewek@lessitermedia.com
262-777-2435
Another day, another cautionary tale of branding gone bad.
On the front page of the August 25th Wall Street Journal’s Business & Finance section was an article about the Cracker Barrel rebranding backlash you’ve no doubt heard about by now, and how a redesigned logo dropped their market value by more than 9% over five days. Beyond the tens of millions of dollars of fallout is the broken trust with their customer base and mishandled brand authenticity they’ve been building since it was founded in 1969.
These are things business nightmares are made of and it was avoidable.
Let’s be clear, you’ll never appease everyone and that’s not what this or any other branding misfires are about. What it underscores is the importance of intention. While people develop brand preferences based on the performance of the product, their loyalty is maintained through the emotional connection they form with the brand. That connection is built on trust and consistency.
When we rebranded from Lessiter Publications to Lessiter Media in 2015, we didn’t change our mission or our commitment to those we served. In fact, we made them front and center of every decision that we made through that planning process and rebranding launch. Developing a good, targeted brand starts with your “WHO” and “WHY.”
Cracker Barrel says they did “extensive customer research” leading up to this rebranding, but in that research they failed to capture the voice of who they were serving. “Our values haven’t changed, and the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven’t changed…We could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” Cracker Barrel said. Notice the word they use: “WE.” Within that WE, where is the loyal customer?
At the end of the day, they failed to launch because they lost sight of the core of Cracker Barrel. They chased a novelty instead of an identity. “Rebrands succeed when they evolve, not overwrite.” (The Drum)
As you look at your own brand portfolio, ask yourself this: If branding can negatively slash a company’s market value by tens of millions of dollars within days, how effective can GOOD and TARGETED branding for your company be?
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