Old brands are trying to make new friends
While doing research on the Internet, I came across an article which indicated many brands that were favorites in the mid-1900s are re-inventing, re-positioning and, in some cases, re-introducing these once top-sellers in an attempt to entice a new generation of consumers to buy their products. In the meantime, they seem to be overlooking the people who constituted their original customer base: New Seniors.
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One of those seeking to rebuild their once strong brand franchise is Old Spice. This was the starter product for young men who were beginning to shave and one that many stayed with as they matured. To compete for today’s younger men, Old Spice has changed some of the things that made it famous. The packaging is new and additional products have been added to the line. Gone is the sailor and the ditty, but the familiar smell remains.
Clairol used the ad theme “Does she or doesn’t she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.” It was considered rather risqué at the time and helped establish the brand as a category leader. Now there’s new packaging for the coloring line. And big ad dollars are being spent to push Herbal Essence and its organic qualities. Cadillac’s big car is the Escalade SUV, but GM is pushing the smaller, sportier CTS sedan. Noxzema was marketed as a sunburn remedy until the ‘50s when it became a beauty treatment for women. Companion items were added as were men’s products such as shave cream. After many years of being relatively dormant in the marketing arena, Noxzema has a new look and is trying to gain momentum as a beauty treatment product, once again.
Scores of products have been re-positioned by a large number of companies in hopes of capturing a greater share of market. Some marketers made lots of money doing this as their primary business. Hueblein, the liquor importer, diversified into foods by taking a little known mustard, Grey Poupon, and turning it into a major brand. The company also did this with other specialty foods such as A-1 Steak Sauce.
When Clorox was spun off from P&G it was a one-product company. It quickly purchased many products in unadvertised categories and turned them into branded winners, Kingsford Charcoal and Liquid Plumber where among them. Another marketing firm has resurrected once household staples including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Duncan Hines cake mixes, Vlasic pickles and Bumble Bee tuna. It now owns Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and is changing the name to PBR and marketing it as a hip beer.
Did it ever occur to those trying to capture Gen X and Y consumers that the 30 million Pre-boomers will be welcoming Boomers to the 65+ crowd beginning in 2011, at the rate of one every ten seconds, and that these combined groups are actually larger than the younger generations? If they had, and continued to market to the mature consumer, there would have been no need to re-establish their products; because they would have retained us a customers through all these years. Marketers are beginning to recognize that New Seniors are loyal consumers. So expect more companies to come on board as our ranks continue to grow, but we may be satisfied with another brand that appealed to our needs.
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