Salon’s “Brand Graveyard”
Interesting new series from Salon called the Brand Graveyard. Salon says, “The Brand Graveyard is where brands go to die.” In the intro piece they give last rites to The Rocky Mountain News, Fortunoff, Mervyn’s and Circuit City.
I might quibble on a few points.
Strictly speaking, a brand graveyard is where brands go to be buried, not to die. Brands die in the marketplace.
The brand dies first, then the business
Most brands are effectively dead long before the business is buried. They’re zombie brands: ad campaigns on the outside, stone cold on the inside. They lurch; we listen. But we don’t care. Macy’s is a dead brand, but the company still announces mega/micro/mini/nano sales every other day. Lawyers and banks will keep it lurching until the feet fall off.
A company can have loads of cash and still be a dead brand
Companies with billions in the bank can be dead brands. Microsoft is a dead brand, but Redmond will slog on for decades, maybe centuries. (If you’re a monopoly, brands don’t matter–including your own.)
Customers are the immortal soul of brands
Strangely, the Salon series overlooks the vital role of customers in building brands, and in keeping brands around after their corporate host expires. Brands are half company, half customer. A company may croak, but if its brand made life meaningful for customers, expect customers to keep it alive–as only customers can.
Image: Salon
