(Rede)sign of the times
Brands often look to a design refresh to infuse their brand with new energy, and regain consumer attention. But recently, brands have been discovering that, contrary to popular belief, not all press is good press.
Perhaps the first example of this was the Tropicana carton redesign in 2009. In January of 2009, PepsiCo brand Tropicana revealed their newly designed cartons which no longer featured the iconic image of an orange with a straw poking out of it, which had been the Tropicana hallmark for decades. The response was immediate, as customers swarmed onto social media outlets, decrying the new design as “ugly” and “stupid”. And in an even more surprising twist, Tropicana listened. The new design was recalled just one short month later, and the iconic orange returned to shelves.
In October of 2010, Gap faced a similar consumer backlash when they attempted to update their white on navy logo with a new look. This time, it took only days for the new logo to be unceremoniously scrapped, and a few months later, the executive in charge of the re-design met a similar fate.
This year, it seems to be Coca-Cola’s turn. For the 2011 holiday season, Coke had planned to distribute more than one billion silver and white colored cans, featuring polar bears, as part of their partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. Unfortunately, customers used to picking their products based on the color of the can were first confused, and then outraged, as faithful Diet Coke drinkers realized they had accidentally purchased (and, oh the horror—DRANK!) regular Coke. People took to twitter, facebook and even You Tube to warn their fellow consumers and complain. And Coca-Cola responded. Their first step was to put a fact sheet on their website outlining the difference between the cans. But then a few days ago, the company sent out a press release letting customers know that they would be launching “Phase II” of their holiday design, which would have red cans featuring the polar bears so that people could distinguish between diet and regular.
It seems that in a time where consumers can quickly and loudly voice their opinions on just about anything via social media, brands need to be even more diligent in testing brands in vivo, and gauging consumer reactions before going on shelf. And if that’s not enough? Brands need to be able to respond to consumer concerns and engage with them on facebook, twitter and other forums.
Comments :
...customers used to picking their products based on the color of the can were first confused, and then outraged, as faithful Diet Coke drinkers realized they had accidentally purchased (and, oh the horror—DRANK!) regular Coke...
You know, this shows how trivial and literal consumers have become and how companies are so afraid to challenge their base with sometihing new and exciting. New should equal exciting but Coke buckled early. Pity.
Yes, Coke might be the globally-leading brand but I feel that it does not show the degree of social responsibility that it ought to. I mean despite being such a big corporate how much does it invest in terms of giving back something constructive to the customers.