FADS AND BRANDS
FADS AND BRANDS
Thursday, 19 February 2009 08:15
A fad is a very short term novelty that diffuses quickly through a select part of the population. When a fad lasts a bit longer it becomes a craze and when it sinks into the longer-term sub culture of society it spreads to the more general population and becomes a trend. Some trends finally end up as accepted culture
Over the years the wisdom of associating brands to fads has been debated inconclusively, mainly because it is not always easy to determine whether what you are seeing is simply a fad that will soon die away or evolve into a culture that can drive your brand for years to come.
Since brand strategy is a long term undertaking, basing your strategy on a fad is rarely a good idea. However if you do see a fad opportunity that you cannot pass up, the important thing is to realise that it is a short term tactic and not a life long positioning. With this in mind you may be able to reap short term gains while being careful not to lay down heavy investments that take years to bear returns. In fact it is advisable to take on a fad brand strategy by launching an entirely new brand as opposed to gambling the fate of an existing strong brand.
An example of a fad is the “Low-Carb” (low carbohydrate) diet that led to the launch of low-carb beers in the USA. Anheuser-Busch led the way by launching Michelob Ultra an extension to the Michelob beer brand, on a low-carb positioning. It is unclear whether they saw this as a way to gain short term sales or whether they saw it as a long term strategy to capture a new arising market.
There has since been an increase in new information from around the world on the negatives of the Low-Carb diet which, in my opinion, puts to question its long term popularity. It will most likely die away like many other fads diets before it. Michelob Ultra may therefore find itself fighting a hard battle to convince consumers that they need a low carb-beer. Other than that they may have to reposition the brand altogether because its very existence is based upon a dead fad. Additionally there would also be erosion of the main Michelob brand’s equity, underpinning the wisdom of keeping fad strategies away from existing brands.
A fast growing fad currently going through the Kenyan populace is “herbal”. This fad seems to be heading to craze status, and has caused marketers to launch herbal offerings in soap, toothpaste, hair oil, body lotion and cosmetics in general.
The writer is the Chief Executive Officer of Interbrand Sampson East Africa, a strategic brand consultancy firm.
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