Keeping it “Retro”
What do you do when your brand is so large and recognizable that consumers are able to identify any logo ever produced by your company? You start to recycle and go “retro”. For years companies have reverted back to previous logos or package designs in order to tap into consumer’s sense of nostalgia. Brands have always had to update their look, feel, tagline or color to refresh their image in consumer’s minds, but not every brand redesign is popular. Just recently, Tropicana announced they were changing back to their previous logo after an online consumer backlash created an Internet uproar. When it comes to changing your brand’s image, some companies are benefitting from remembering past designs.
General Mills, the king of cereal manufacturers, is launching a unique brand packing campaign that is attracting a substantial amount of consumer attention. General Mills teamed up with Target to launch a month-long promotion granting the retailer the exclusive opportunity to display a number of popular General Mills cereals featuring retro box designs. The promotion runs from February 15 until March 21 and includes the brands: Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Trix. The old school box designs seen in Target are the exact same as they were years ago with the exception of updated product shots.
General Mills had the brand loyalist in mind when developing this brand package campaign. Only consumers who have been a fan of these cereals for years can truly appreciate the uniqueness of these old school boxes. On top of offering the old boxes, General Mills is giving away t-shirts featuring the old logo designs. Consumers who purchase 5 boxes of cereal featuring the older designs can go to the Web site http://www.cerealwear.com/ and enter the proof of purchases and in turn General Mills will send them a free t-shirt. Consumers not willing to purchase 5 boxes of cereal can simply pay $5 to cover the shipping and handling cost and still be awarded a free t-shirt. While General Mills is not changing their boxes back nationwide, it allows them to create a unique relationship with their brand enthusiasts. The company did no formal marketing to launch the program and instead decided to leave it to bloggers to spread the word. Initial reports from General Mills are positive.
The king of retro is Nike. While the swoosh logo has been around since the brand started in 1972, the company has found unique ways to integrate old designs in new shoes. Recently, the company created a special 25 year anniversary sneaker for their popular Pegasus running sneakers. Over the past 25 years there have been a number of new designs for the Pegasus while a number of technological changes were made such as air pockets. The 25th year shoe was special in that it took the original design of the Pegasus and integrated the latest technology. The top of the shoe is from 1983 while the bottom is from 2008 (both pictured). The bottom shoe features Nike Air Max technology as well as iPod+ technology that syncs up to the popular device in order to track your miles and calories. Nike is always bringing back popular consumer designs because they understand that if consumers had happy experiences with their brands back then, they might want to create new ones now.
The final brand that I will discuss has not launched a retro look but maybe I can inspire it. I am calling on Doritos to bring back their old-school late ’80s early ’90s bag. You remember the one with the see-thru hole that showed just how awesome tasting the chips in there will be. That’s right, the bag that Corey Feldman ate out of in the 1989 smash comedy hit movie “The Burbs” while he was getting ready to spy on the Colepecks. It was told to me that the company got rid of the see-thru packing because the light could hurt product freshness, but I am sure a company as powerful as Pepsi Co, makers of Doritos, can figure it out. It would be awesome! But I don’t want it to go on every single flavor. Just Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese, not Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheesier. Bring back the original names as well. In a world where many consumers assume new is better, a couple of companies are cashing in by bringing consumer favorites back to life. New is not always better. If marketers are able to tap into consumers positive emotions of the past, they can create a powerful bond that stretches though time.
Tags: Advertising, Branding, Retro
