Over the last year we’ve been talking to a number of organizations all with the same problem; they have an identity crisis. These aren’t five-year old companies finding their way – these are 15, 20 even 30 year-old organizations who have had a startling revelation. My target market is changing – and I haven’t changed a bit. Sure I’m successful, but who am I? (See Vanessa’s post about your brand as a person)

How often have you heard yourself say – “Let’s swing by Blockbuster.” Chances are, less so lately. Once the go-to source for families and individuals seeking on-demand entertainment, Blockbuster is now the subject of CNN’s latest headline. Title? Blockbuster bleeding to death. How’s that for family entertainment? Blockbuster became successful in the 90s by pioneering a revenue sharing agreement with studios that guaranteed it premier access to new releases and major profit margins that fueled the growth of almost 4,000 stores. When you’re in every neighborhood in the country, your brand equity is as strong as Kleenex’s. So what happened? The internet transformed renters’ meaning of entertainment. From the laptop to the iPhone, devices became a source for any entertainment under the sun. While Blockbuster still did what it does best [movies], it failed to perceptually align itself with “entertainment” today. In a nutshell: Blockbuster failed to shift its brand equity from stores to the web. By the time they endeavored to do so in 2004, their brand was just a johnny-come-lately to the incumbent: Netflix.

Blockbuster’s misdirection was a strategic mistake, but I would argue that this was equally a matter of wasted brand equity. Just because a brand has been around for a decade or three and seems to be doing well, doesn’t mean that it is immune to irrelevance. The internet is only an example of the quickening pace of [r]evolutions and loyalties in industries and people. Whether your brand targets a demographic whose dynamicism is as speedy as its growth, or whether market leadership has made you deaf to the rumblings of your competition’s innovation, a brand is a terrible thing to waste. As the visual symbol for your organization, your brand must always reflect who you are today – not you 20 years ago. If you think your branding can be put off because it doesn’t affect your bottom line, think again. Your brand becomes old school – your reliable profits become old news.

What’s the lesson from this story? There’s a few: 1) don’t rest on your laurels, 2) brand stasis is slow suicide, and 3) stop asking yourself “Who am I?” Instead ask your audience who they are and where they’re going. They just might have the insight to keep you relevant [not to mention profitable].

Tags: Blockbuster is bleeding, brand equity, melissa ballate, stale brand

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 2:53 am and is filed under branding, strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.