Brand Failures

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

What do Coca-Cola, McDonald's, IBM, Microsoft and Virgin all have in common? Yes, they are all global giants, but what they are less recognized for are the many branded products they have launched which bombed spectacularly - and at great cost.

Brand Failures takes a riveting look at how such disasters occur. This new edition of Matt Haig's best-selling book, provides the inside-story of 100 major brand blunders that make for jaw-dropping reading. Brand Failures explores the brands that have set sail with the help of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns only to sink without a trace. From acknowledged brand mistakes made by successful blue-chip companies to some lesser know but hilarious bomb-shells, it reveals what went wrong in every case and provides a valuable checklist of lessons learnt for each.

A tour of this fascinating hall of failure will alert you to potential dangers and show you how to ensure a long, healthy life for your brand.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. xl)
• 01 Introduction (p. 1)
• Why brands fail (p. 3)
• Brand myths (p. 5)
• Why focus on failure? (p. 7)
• 02 Classic failures (p. 8)
• 1 New Coke (p. 9)
• 2 The Ford Edsel (p. 14)
• 3 Sony Betamax (p. 21)
• 4 McDonald's Arch Deluxe (p. 25)
• 03 Idea failures (p. 28)
• 5 Kellogg's Cereal Mates (p. 29)
• 6 Sony's Godzilla (p. 32)
• 7 Persil Power (p. 36)
• 8 Pepsi (p. 38)
• 9 Earring Magic Ken (p. 40)
• 10 The Hot Wheels computer (p. 42)
• 11 Corfam (p. 44)
• 12 RJ Reynolds' smokeless cigarettes (p. 46)
• 13 La Femme (p. 50)
• 14 Radion (p. 52)
• 15 Clairol's 'Touch of Yoghurt' shampoo (p. 53)
• 16 Pepsi AM (p. 53)
• 17 Maxwell House ready-to-drink coffee (p. 54)
• 18 Campbell's Souper Combo (p. 54)
• 19 Thirsty Cat! And Thirsty Dog! (p. 55)
• 04 Extension failures (p. 56)
• 20 Harley Davidson perfume (p. 58)
• 21 Gerber Singles (p. 62)
• 22 Crest (p. 63)
• 23 Heinz All Natural Cleaning Vinegar (p. 67)
• 24 Miller (p. 70)
• 25 Virgin Cola (p. 73)
• 26 Bic underwear (p. 76)
• 27 Xerox Data Systems (p. 77)
• 28 Chiquita (p. 82)
• 29 Country Time Cider (p. 85)
• 30 Capital Radio restaurants (p. 85)
• 31 Smith and Wesson mountain bikes (p. 85)
• 32 Cosmopolitan yoghurt (p. 86)
• 33 Lynx barbershop (p. 86)
• 34 Colgate Kitchen Entrees (p. 87)
• 35 LifeSavers Soda (p. 87)
• 36 Pond's toothpaste (p. 87)
• 37 Frito-Lay Lemonade (p. 88)
• 05 PR failures (p. 89)
• 38 Exxon (p. 91)
• 39 McDonald's - the McLibel trial (p. 93)
• 40 Perrier's benzene contamination (p. 97)
• 41 Pan Am (p. 99)
• 42 Snow Brand milk products (p. 101)
• 43 Rely tampons (p. 103)
• 44 Gerber's PR blunder (p. 105)
• 45 RJ Reynold's Joe Camel campaign (p. 107)
• 46 Firestone tyres (p. 109)
• 47 Farley's infant milk (p. 112)
• 06 Culture failures (p. 114)
• 48 Kellogg's in India (p. 116)
• 49 Hallmark in France (p. 122)
• 50 Pepsi in Taiwan (p. 123)
• 51 Schweppes Tonic Water in Italy (p. 123)
• 52 Chevy Nova and others (p. 124)
• 53 Electrolux in the United States (p. 124)
• 54 Gerber in Africa (p. 124)
• 55 Coors in Spain (p. 125)
• 56 Frank Perdue's chicken in Spain (p. 125)
• 57 Clairol's Mist Stick in Germany (p. 125)
• 58 Parker Pens in Mexico (p. 125)
• 59 American Airlines in Mexico (p. 125)
• 60 Vicks in Germany (p. 126)
• 61 Kentucky Fried Chicken in Hong Kong (p. 126)
• 62 CBS Fender (p. 126)
• 63 Quaker Oats'Snapple (p. 129)
• 07 People failures (p. 132)
• 64 Enron (p. 133)
• 65 Arthur Andersen (p. 135)
• 66 Ratner's (p. 136)
• 67 Planet Hollywood (p. 139)
• 68 Fashion Cafe (p. 141)
• 69 Hear'Say (p. 142)
• 70 Guiltless Gourmet (p. 144)
• 08 Business cycle failures (p. 146)
• 71 Lehman Brothers (1844-2008) (p. 147)
• 72 Marconi 1896-2001 and 2005 (p. 150)
• Rebranding failures (p. 153)
• 73 Consignia (p. 155)
• 74 Tommy Hilfiger (p. 158)
• 75 ONdigital to ITV Digital (p. 161)
• 76 Windscale to Sellafield (p. 164)
• 77 Payless Drug Store to Rite Aid Corporation (p. 166)
• 78 British Airways (p. 166)
• 79 MicroPro (p. 167)
• 10 Internet and new technology failures (p. 168)
• 80 Pets.com (p. 171)
• 81 VoicePod (p. 175)
• 82 Excite@Home (p. 176)
• 83 WAP (p. 179)
• 84 Dell'sWebPC (p. 182)
• 85 Intel's Pentium chip (p. 184)
• 86 IBM's Linux graffiti (p. 185)
• 87 boo.com (p. 187)
• 88 Google (p. 194)
• 11 Tired brands (p. 197)
• 89 FW.Woolworth (p. 197)
• 90 Oldsmobile (p. 201)
• 91 Pear's Soap (p. 204)
• 92 Ovaltine (p. 206)
• 93 Kodak (p. 208)
• 94 Polaroid (p. 212)
• 95 Rover (p. 217)
• 96 Moulinex (p. 219)
• 97 Nova magazine (p. 221)
• 98 Levi's (p. 223)
• 99 Kmart (p. 227)
• 100 The Cream nightclub (p. 229)
• 101 Yardiey cosmetics (p. 233)
• References (p. 235)
• Index237

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Content includes: Classic failures; Idea failures; Extension failures; PR failures; Culture failures; People failures; Rebranding failures; Internet and new technology failures; Tired brands. Excerpted from Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time by Matt Haig All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Product development represents the lifeblood of an organization and, considering product failure rates, is arguably the aspect of marketing most difficult to get right. The stakes are higher than ever for launching products, so the lessons learned from experience can be extremely compelling. These two books offer a penetrating look into what makes the world's top brands flourish and what makes others miss the mark and crash. Each book is teeming with examples that are presented in very readable language. Perhaps the most valuable parts of the books are the "secrets of success" (for how and why top brands thrive) and the "lessons to be learned" (for what contributed to mistakes and failed brands). These pearls of wisdom are presented at the conclusion of each brand's history. Especially illuminating are the author's "seven deadly sins of branding" and the myths that are associated with failed brands.Marketers would do well to recognize there are several formulas for both success and failure, and there is a "story behind the story" for each brand that has made or missed the mark. An unyielding commitment to customer value and satisfaction is a hallmark for success, and Brand Success is a signature description and analysis of the road to establishing product differentiation and brand equity, which are difficult for competitors to match. Suggestion: read the book on failures first; the successes take on added meaning when one is aware of what bumps in the road were avoided by the foresight, planning, and managing at the foundation of successful brands. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers, especially upper-division undergraduate and graduate business students, researchers, and practitioners. N. A. Govoni Babson College