Exercise Good Judgement, Then Stretch!

Nov 11 2010

-Brant Kelsey

The desire to stretch a brand outside of core offerings seems to be a temptation that big companies struggle with at one point or another. Instead of capitalizing on what the business does best by innovating the core product and delivery, they try to use a high level of name recognition and brand equity in an attempt to print more money. It’s this loss of focus that causes these companies to lose more money than they make.

There was a great example of this in a recent Wired Magazine article. Mini, the company that brought you the Cooper, debuted a new Mini E-Scooter at the Paris Motor Show. The E-Scooter is a electric-powered moped that is recharged by the average wall outlet. Great idea, right?

Wrong.

At least for Mini, anyway. Here’s why.

When people think “Mini”. People already think “Mini Cooper”. They’ve drilled this into our minds for years by innovative and creative advertising campaigns. Mini has tens of millions of dollars invested in the positioning of their brand in our minds. Heck, who didn’t want to run out and buy a Mini Cooper after watching The Italian Job?

Mini = Small, fast, and fun cars.

Now the fine folks at Mini want us to think “and scooters.” Electric scooters, at that.

Scooters are slow, the Mini Cooper isn’t. Mini Coopers are quick, nimble, and a heck of a lot of fun to drive - according to them, a street legal go-cart!

However, Mini saw an opportunity to leverage the brand and make some money. All this is going to accomplish is to muddy the water and extend the brand into an area that doesn’t align with their core offering. Mini is not trucks, not sedans, not electric, and certainly not scooters. Mini is small, fast and fun.

Who got it right? Smart.

An electric scooter fits perfectly in Smart’s mission to be the leader in electric urban transportation. It’s not a stretch to think that an electric scooter would be a great addition to the Smart stable of products. People who buy Smart products believe in green, sustainable transportation, and a Smart Moped fits that bill.

When considering a new product offering, consider your existing brand. Failing to do so can not only doom the product launch, but can also damage the existing brand portfolio and lessen existing brand equity.

Does the product improve or enhance your current line of products or services?
Putting your brand on a new product is going to make a splash. When extending the brand into areas that run parallel to existing products and services, it’s more likely to make sense to customers and they are able to see the connection. The splash is a good one!

Consumers everywhere know Arm & Hammer baking soda is a great cleaning agent. Arm & Hammer extended their brand into toothpaste and laundry detergent. People trusted the new product and the new products were (and still are) a huge success.

Will the new product or service make sense to your current customers?
This is something to consider when expanding its offerings into new territory. Will customers make the connection between your brand and the “itch” you are trying to scratch? If the new brand diverges from what it stands for, it won’t be authentic and your customers can smell a phoney money grab a mile away.

Leveraging a brand is a good thing, but there is a limit. Keep your brand focused on what you do best, and only expand when it makes good sense.