Marketers have recently been trying to revive old and faded “ghost” brands. “Ghost brands” are brands that have become ghosts of their former, successful selves and that have now been moved down to the bottom shelf below newer products. The idea is that it “can be less expensive to stimulate consumer memories of once-famous products, which had been backed with considerable ad budgets, than to spend enormous sums to introduce all-new products.”
Two specific “ghost brands” that are attempting to be introduced are the Sure line of antiperspirants and deodorants and Pert Plus line of hair care products, both sold by the Idelle Labs division of Helen of Troy. It is said that there has been no money spent on advertising for either brand since 2007. However, Idelle is going to spend an estimated amount of $15 million on each campaign. Marketers are hoping to “reconnect with lapsed users” and “re-establish the brand name.”
I believe it’s going to be very interesting to see what will happen when these “ghost” brands are reintroduced and what the consumer response will be.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/business/media/11adnewsletter1.html?sq=Consumer products&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&src=busln&adxnnlx=1286848899-aesJT/86swf1WCpUGkDBzQ
This is a really smart idea. Some companies use this already, to some extent. For example, Quaker cereals (e.g. Cap'n Crunch) are using retro box styles today. This may be used to spark memories in older consumers, thus broadening the scope of targeted buyers. I would predict Idelle will easily gain back previous consumers of their brands.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this will work at all. Consumers today, for the most part, thing that newer products are better. I think bringing back older products will just keep more products on the shelf and not change spending habits whatsoever. Sure, if the box changes to retro style, those products may be purchased, but if it is an old product I don't think those products would be consumed.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about: if you used to use one kind of deodorant but then switched to a new one because it was supposed to be better, would you go back to the old one?