Brands Coming Back from Retirement

by erica ~ May 28, 2008

Just when you thought there were enough brands out there - dedicated fans of retired brands are fighting to bring back some classic products such as Brim coffee and Hydrox cookies. Both products endure what is called brand equity, which is a positive association for products that might be ‘left-for-dead.’

According to the New York Times , Brim has strong brand equity and a high level of recognition. Although it disappeared in the late 1990’s, Brim still has a 92 percent ”aided national awareness,” which was revealed in a survey conducted over a year ago among people over the age of 25. Other products making a comeback in the next few months are Nurpin and Salon Selectives.

A perfect example of a brand coming back to life is the VW Beetle, which became a huge hit when it was re-introduced a few years back. “A great deal of what happens in the consumer marketplace does not involve brands with zealous loyalists. What determines whether a brand lives or dies (or can even come back to life) is usually a quieter process that has more to do with mental shortcuts and assumptions and memories — and all the imperfections that come along with each of those things.” The re-introduction of the Beetle and many other products brings back great memories for those who have some association to these products.

Today’s Wall Street Journal brought back the Hyrdox chocolate sandwich cookie, which resembles the Oreo. Gone off the shelves only 5 years ago, Kellogg’s is temporarily re-launching this item due to an overwhelming response from their consumers. More than 1,300 phone inquiries were made, an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures was signed and Internet chat sites were created to bring this product back onto the shelves. With a rival like Oreo, Hydrox will only be sold for a limited time unless it really takes off and breaks record sales. The new version will not contain trans fats, which slightly alters the old recipe.

As we can tell, brand equity and recognition are quite significant factors for both consumers and manufacturers.  Just because we recognize brands like Apple and Rolex, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we purchase such products. Smaller brands, like the ones mentioned earlier, may have a more significant impact than the larger brands. There are no real reasons why brands need to disappear but managing a brand’s image and connection to the consumer is the main concern and should be taken very seriously.

Erica Berkovich is an associate account executive at Mediashop PR.