Tropicana gets Squeezed

February 27, 2009

Tropicana

The recent hubbub over the Tropicana packaging change shines a light on
several marketing myths. Take note so you don’t make the same mistakes with
your brand.

Tropicana brand background

Tropicana is a 60-year-old brand. Originally the company sold gift boxes
of oranges, but looking for something to do with the smaller fruit that went to
waste they got into the frozen concentrate business. But that category was well
established and Tropicana was just another brand.

The key event that really built the Tropicana brand came in 1954. Not satisfied
with being just another player in the concentrate category, the company pioneered
a flash pasteurization method that raised the temperature of the freshly
squeezed orange juice for a very short time, extending the juice’s shelf life
to three months while maintaining its flavor. Tropicana then dropped the frozen
concentrate product and focused entirely on the fresh, "not-from-concentrate"
product.

Being first in a new category is the key to success. Tropicana got into
the mind with a great name and built a new category. Tropicana owns
not-from-concentrate in the mind and is the "real thing" in fresh orange juice.
With the success of Tropicana, eventually the majority of the market for orange
juice moved from frozen to fresh.

Today, Tropicana remains the dominant brand and the world leader in chilled
orange juice. Since the original entrepreneur sold the company in the 1970’s, there
have been several owners. Since 1998, PepsiCo has owned the brand.

Last month, PepsiCo introduced a major overhaul of the Tropicana
packaging. Which was done after PepsiCo Chairman-CEO Indra Nooyi announced the
company would embark on a sweeping revamp of all its brands. To be changed: "every aspect
of the brand proposition: how they look, how they’re packaged, how they will be
merchandised on the shelves and how they connect with consumers."

What? Is she crazy? Apparently. The last thing PepsiCo should do is
totally redo all of its brands. The new Pepsi logo that is a little too close
to Obama’s logo hasn’t been very well received. And results for Tropicana have
been disastrous.

In just a few short weeks after the packaging change, the company bowed
to consumer outrage and scrapped the Tropicana changes. The previous packaging will be
brought back and Arnell will finally be humbled (this part of course I doubt.)

Unfortunately, the company will continue the advertising campaign by
Arnell that accompanied the new packaging look. The tagline is "Squeeze. It’s a
natural.
" Squeeze? That is not language that consumers would ever use.
Tropicana should have remained focused on fresh not from concentrate orange
juice.

Tropicana squeeze001

"Squeeze" is a typical campaign that left-brain management loves. Management
values cleverness in advertising. Advertising campaigns that are clever and new
appeal to left-brainers. You see squeeze is used as a double-entendre in the
ads. The advertisement are filled with people hugging. Peter Arnell says the campaign is all about love. Love? The worst part is there is not an orange in sight in any of the ads.
How clever indeed! Reminds me of the Saturn ads with no cars.

Right-brain marketing values credentials in advertising. Advertising that is
relevant, familiar and consistent is what works best at reinforcing a brand in
the consumer’s mind.


Now that you know the background, let’s debunk some enduring marketing myths:

It is the product not the brand that consumers care about. Wrong.

Consumers care about brands. The brand is what gives the product
its authenticity and credibility. The brand includes everything from the name,
the look, the logo, the color and the package.

When you change the look of the packaging, you lose some of the power of
the brand in the mind. It no longer looks authentic. And worse, consumers think
you have also changed the contents.

"We underestimated the deep emotional bond consumers had with the
original packaging," said the President of Tropicana. Consumers weren’t
attached to the packaging! Consumers are attached to the Tropicana brand. And
it didn't feel like their Tropicana brand when you changed the packaging. The
packaging is the visual
that signals the brand’s familiarity in the mind.

Suppose Coca-Cola changed its classic bottle. It would be a disaster. In
fact, Coca-Cola has been aggressively increasing its use of that bottle imagery on cans, cups,
and billboards to reinforce its brand. Good move.


The verbal is more powerful than the visual. Wrong.

Both are necessary and should complement each other. One of the worst
things about the Tropicana redesign was the loss of the iconic orange and
straw. It was a powerful visual that reinforced the fresh, not-from-concentrate
idea in the mind. Instead they used the words “100% orange” on the containers.
Bad move. But typical of left-brain management that thinks verbally rather than
visually.

The strongest brands have powerful visuals that reinforce the brands in
the mind.

Marlboro – Cowboys

KFC –Colonel Sanders

Pizza Hut – Red Roof

AT&T – globe

McDonald's – golden arches

Brands need constant change to keep up with consumers. Wrong.

Strong brands should not make radical changes. Leading brands in particular
should be wary of change.

(Of course, if nobody knows your
brand, you can change it as much as you want.)

Occasionally (like once a decade or two) brands may need some slight changes and updates. But only very infrequently and very
subtly. The changes should be ones that few people even notice.

And sometimes it is a good idea not to change at all. Jack Daniels is
proud of the fact it never changes. In fact, it is the theme of its
advertising. “Not subject to change, not now, not ever.”

If your brand is facing an uncertain future because of a declining
category, it might be better to launch a new brand. You can’t change a brand
radically in the mind anyway. Think Kodak.


Here are some classic logo changes that kept the brand’s authenticity but
made slight changes to keep the look current.

 

At&t 

Burgerking 

Ford 

Kfc 

Pizza-Hut

Ups logo

War in the Boardroom

And don't forget to get your copy of War in the Boardroom which is on sale now. Visit our totally redesigned site www.RIES.com to find out more.

And take our test to see if you make better marketing or management material at: www.LeftRightBrainQuiz.com