There is currently an article in Brandweek that reports the findings of a recent TippingSprung study on the best and worst line extensions of 2008 (article here). It's an article filled with great little soundbites and anecdotes like this one from Laura Ries (herself a line extension of sorts...): "
"Marketers are so in love with their brands that they think consumers are as well and will go to the lengths of wearing their brand name on their underwear," said Laura Ries of Ries & Ries brand consultancy. "While people love the Whopper, they don't want to parade around in underwear that says, 'This is where my big, fat ass came from.'"
Now, here are my top issues with this study:
1 - this survey was done by asking MARKETERS what they thought were the best and worst line extensions. Gauging by the fact that it was, in fact, MARKETERS who brought these line extensions to life in the first place - I'm not sure they are the best folks to ask! And why is somebody measuring success of line extensions by what marketers think anyway? How about asking consumers - and preferably consumers who represent the target market of the actual line extensions? How about citing anything about sales or promotional value or any sort of actual effects on the brand itself? I get it - this way is much easier, produces better sound bites, and is guaranteed to provide exactly the information you wanted to get in the first place.
2 - I actually received an invitation to participate in this survey. As I remember it, there was just a list of brand extensions and you had to rank which ones sounded good vs. bad. I don't believe there was any sort of context as to the products (i.e., who the target was, what the support was, what the overall objectives were and how the products fit into the overall strategic plans of the organizations, how they were distributed, how they performed, etc...). It was just something like: "Burger King underwear" and you had to rank as to how good or bad that idea was. I'm no market research expert, but that hardly seems like a sound methodology for this type of study...
3 - The first two points would be forgivable if the article was written as a tongue-in-cheek piece that amounted to an end-of-year fun and fluffy report. But it wasn't. In fact, if one didn't take note of who the survey respondents were, one could get sucked into believing the "facts" provided throughout. Like these definitive sounding statements:
"Almost 58 percent of respondents viewed the RPet (Coke's recycled clothing) line as more
greenwashing than green."
"So what were the most unfortunate product rollouts in light of the
recession? The Sleeping Beauty pen was selected by a third
of respondents, followed by the Porsche Design Kitchen and its
$100,000 price tag."
"Coppertone sunglasses and Mr. Clean performance car washes were
named the best brand extensions, according to 31.2 percent and 25.7
percent of respondents, respectively."
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I personally think any of these were great ideas. The key point, though, is it really doesn't matter what I think - other than if I am trying to demonstrate principles that I think can help lead to better decisions down the road.
The biggest problem I have with the whole thing is that it was designed for no other reason than for self promotion. TippingSprung is a 'branding, marketing and innovation consultancy." So they do this study in conjunction with Brandweek and they get their name associated with something that is meant to give them credibility in that none of these terrible ideas came from them. They get to disseminate their opinions as facts in a reputable industry magazine and they probably will get a bunch of phone calls and some work out of it. I don't know the folks there and have nothing against them personally. I just have a general dislike for this type of research and feel it does our whole industry a severe injustice.
[NOTE: This post has been altered slightly from its original content. Upon review, some of the language used was overly harsh and did little to build upon the main points, which remain intact. - Len]
It's all about "conversation" and "attention," Len. The more the merrier. Think Andy Warhol, Paris Hilton, and the A-list bloggers. ;)
Posted by: Tom Asacker | December 15, 2008 at 04:16 PM