The return of a tasty brand – glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts are back

Growing up in the Deep South, I have fond childhood memories of watching warm glazed doughnuts coming off of a conveyor belt. They would be eaten while still warm. Eventually Krispy Kreme franchises opened throughout the US and the country found itself anticipating new locations. People from all walks of life were lining up for those indescribable delights. Then, almost overnight, stores began closing and the company found itself filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. What had once been a Wall Street darling became irrelevant.

Much to my surprise, Krispy Kreme has been a trending topic across many social networks today. The company has expanded into Asia and its stock risen by over 18% in the past month. The company has appeared to have reached a sound fiscal position. Philadelphia, which had large locations shut down in the city and suburbs, will be welcoming back Krispy Kreme. Keep your eyes open for the red light signifying that hot doughnuts are about to be sold. Brands can come back so watch your calories.

A Whale Of A Time

Incredible images of a 33 foot southern right whale leaping out of the water and smashing into a yacht. This species of white whale has poor eye sight. The mast snapped when this occurred in Cape Town, South Africa. As reported, those in the accident stated,

We were just in the wrong boat, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

View Full Album

The Party Animal’s Dog-matic Affect On Brand

 

Nearly one year ago, I blogged that we will be watching closely to see if Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles act responsibly with respect to animal advocacy. Little did I know then that 11 months later Vick would be drawing attention as a party animal. As acknowledged by Vick, he sponsored an open to the public birthday party that included a gun shooting of a former dog fighting criminal associate with whom the court had forbidden Vick to have had any contact.

    

Michael Vick is on a short leash due to the horrific crimes he has committed. Legally Vick may not have violated his probation, although this is under investigation. However, Vick’s choices demonstrate an irreverence towards the Eagles and others whom have pleaded for him to be given a second chance.

Given that Michael Vick’s personal brand is harming the master brand, the Philadelphia Eagles, there is only one solution.  The Eagles must release Vick of his duties and the organization must fight for animal rights (per their promise at the time they hired him). Actions speak louder than words. Eagles management argued ad nauseam that hiring Vick was about giving one a second chance.  Vick had ample opportunity to seize the moment but made different choices. As a result, the Philadelphia Eagles have been handed only one choice or they will further damage their brand.

Technorati Tags: party animal,short leash,michael vick,philadelphia eagles,dog-matic,brand,birthday party

Oil’s well that doesn’t end well

Anyone who has read my recent blog post knows that I have been direct in criticizing BP’s management of the oil spill. The recent plummet of their stock price, down 40% at the time of this writing, clearly supports that point of view. Given my professional background in reputation management and marketing research, I called out a number of areas where BP could have managed the situation more effectively as opposed to the apathy and callous disposition thus far demonstrated to the American Public, fisherman, workers and grieving family members who have lost loved one when the rig caught fire.

BP’s actions, or lack thereof, have led to a social media campaign associated with a boycott of BP, its subsidiaries, and partners. Just yesterday, I drove past a BP station where surrounding stations were busy and no one was pumping gas at BP. The brand symbolizes negativity in an industry already perceived as unfavorable. BP corporate only has themselves to blame.

Upon becoming aware of a social media driven boycott, my initial reaction was to strongly embrace it. Due to the wisdom of friends and in reflecting on whom it would hurt, something to think about…the independent station owner would be taking the hit and probably be run out of business. The Independents are victims and are being hosed by BP. In essence, BP’s reckless actions are destroying the small business person who carries their brand name. Perhaps one way to demonstrate protest against BP while not totally hurting the Independent, is to buy non-oil related items from the Independent.

While engineers continue to try to plug the leak, there is a great deal more that BP could be doing. A number of action items would help the situation:

• Immediately discontinue spending large amounts of money, to the tune of $50 million on a PR campaign. Redirect that money to the 11 families who lost loved ones on the exploding rig, fisherman in the region,  clean up and the independent dealers.
• Given the many unemployed people in America who want to help in the clean up, hire and train them immediately. It does not matter if they are located in Philadelphia, Chicago, or on the west coast, people are upset about the situation and want to help. Relocate this wealth of talent and it would be a rare win-win in a bad situation.
• Immediately terminate BP executive Tony Hayward of his duties. His lack of sensitivity and selfish perspective throughout the disaster has demonstrated that he is unfit to be part of this conversation. A sample of his comments include:

“There are no plumes

“I want my life back

“The likely impact of this spill disaster is likely to have been very very modest.

The crisis has enough issues surrounding it, therefore, having an executive minimizing its relevance is harmful. It is time to put people and environment ahead of insensitivity and the spread of misinformation.

Although the aforementioned ideas will not undo the adverse affects that will be with us for some three generations (this finding is supported by many credible scientists), it would put the situation in a better place than where they are today. Instead of BP management constantly reminding us that the company has deep pockets and will make it right, actually apply those resources toward the largest ecological disaster of our lifetime. Talk is cheap, action yields results.

As Riki Ott, a renowned Toxicologist has expressed,

“BP and other oil companies under estimate spill and over estimate ability to clean it. They intentionally cover it up because liability is directly tied to the amount of spillage

Since this mess is not going away anytime soon, BP this is your opportunity to step up to a messy plate and start doing the right thing. With each view of the TV spot from a $50 million PR campaign, individuals become more angry.  Pull those ads immediately and direct resources where they need to be placed. Time is of essence.

---

Beyond Petroleum Reputation Management

From a reputation management perspective, what has BP done wrong? The easier question is what have they done right…nothing.

Many so called pundits on the air waves are commenting that there is little that BP can do with respect to public perception until the oil leak is fixed. To that I say, things go wrong in business everyday and they are dealt with honestly and proactively in order to keep people informed and to manage expectations. Since the beginning of the crisis, BP has come across arrogant and untruthful. Early on, when the BP CEO implied that the Gulf slick was "nothing more than a drop in the ocean," it demonstrated a disregard for people in the region and a holier than thou attitude. Such comments set the tone for more to come.

As things progressed, BP assured the public as well as the press that the “top kill” method of pumping heavy mud into the leaking oil well to stop the leak was going as planned. It was not until several days had passed into the Memorial Day weekend holiday that there was an admission of top kill not working. Thus, the operation had been brought to a screeching halt.

At the time of this writing, the BP CEO is disputing the findings of Scientists that there are large oil plumes present below the surface of the ocean. So whom does one believe? That is simple…certainly not BP.

BP has created mistrust and a situation where anything they say is regarded as fiction. So, what could they have done?

Although the magnitude of this ecological disaster is unprecedented, huge catastrophes effecting the brand have plenty of precedent. There have been instances where lives have been lost due to spoilage of food, medication tampering, and many more similar instances. The companies that better managed these terrible circumstances did so by:

• Speaking candidly to the public.
• Even when not knowing outcomes, continually reached out with information that they did know.
• When not knowing specific answers, articulated that as being the case.
• Expressed apologies early on and meant the words spoken.
• Identified with the victims and provided updates in an ongoing manner.

With all that being said, humans do make mistakes so one would hope that as errors are made lessons are learned. Far from the case here. Just today, the latest remarks from BP leadership are particularly selfish and unfortunately consistent with past tone. Earlier the CEO of BP expressed that he wants the oil leak to come to an end in order to have his life back. That pretty much says it all and further supports why this will be the ultimate case study on what not to do in a crisis.

Market Research, Packaging, and the Customer

Great products and brands have significance in our lives.  We know that we can rely on these products; they consistently perform and bring us satisfation and happiness.   Our feelings have grown over time due to the total customer experience derived from the product.  These feelings are a function of both the product and its packaging.  After all, it is difficult to think of situations where we love the product, dislike the packaging, and feel this high degree of total satisfaction.

Recently, one of my all time favorite products changed their packaging.  Tropicana Orange Juice has been a staple in my life for a long period of time.  I know that when I open a carton of Tropicana it will taste fresh, have the right blend of pulp, and be pure.  I have formed a bond with the product.  I also know that when I see the package it will stand out from others on the shelf.  Regardless where I shopped, I knew that I could quickly locate my preferred orange juice.

This all seemed to change overnight.  The reliable staple I had grown to love became repackaged in a more sterile, impersonal way.  I lost my identification with the product and brand. These feelings are not just attributed to me but to many loyal customers. So, what could have been done?  Simply put…effective marketing research.

Merely going out and obtaining input on package designs may have shed some light; however, what about diving deeper with loyal customers?  Was feedback from the consumer elicited in an objective manner?  Objectivity is key.  An advertising agency designing and/or conducting research where there is a subjective agenda does not work.  Going to loyal customers and getting objective, honest insight does work.

To date, the apparent misguided efforts have led to poor decisions.  These missteps have been a function of a flawed research design and, in turn, resulted in losses of customer share and revenue. The New York Times says that “loyal” Tropicana customers are up in arms about the new packaging, refrred to it as ”ugly,” “generic” and claiming that it looks like a store (generic) brand. Others say that the packaging makes it difficult to distinguish between the different varieties of orange juice. A spokesperson indicated that this is the sentiment of a small fraction of vocal dissatisfied customers.  If so, then why has market share fallen?

At the end of the day, customers remain as the ultimate decision makers. While focusing solely on reinventing the brand, Tropicana ignored the total customer experience their customers enjoyed when interacting with the brand.

I offer an idea for a new Ad campaign, “We listened, recognized our mistake, and have brought back that package you have always loved with that same incredible product.”

Do you think it may sell?