Killing your Brand is difficult, expensive, and a PR nightmare… So murder it!

by Karl on March 13, 2006

The “brands” of startups are often the result of a brain-wave of the founder, crafted on the back of a napkin, inspired by the initial business concept. This often works out well, but sometimes the company looks so different 6 months or a year into it suddenly the name and the logo don’t seem to fit the business, or resonate with clients. Big companies spend millions on “re-branding”, the amount AT&T has spent over the last 10 years is probably equivalent to the GDP of a small country. Now, of that enormous budget only a small percentage goes into actually creating the “brand”, and the rest goes into “communication”, PR, advertising, broadcast saturation. So what does a small company do or for that matter a big company that has an ounce of sense? Get creative! secondsite.biz shows a great example here where they have literally murdered their brand, go to brandmurder.com and check out a murder mystery blog/podcast.

Daniel and Jeff shake their heads no. The minutes build. When out of the blue, a scream ruptures the silence. Running feet are heard and the door swings open. The Brand literally tumbles into the room, clearly distressing, clutching his throat with one hand, a copy of The Young Poisoner’s Handbook in the other. Frothing at the mouth, the Brand collapses with a solid THUD! and is entirely motionless. Following close behind is Mike, then Joe.

Mike: Call 911!! Call 911!

Levi bends down to examine the Brand while Daniel, tears already in his eyes, runs to the phone. Levi checks for vital signs but is grim.

Levi: Forget him . He’s dead.

Joe: Dead? He’s been … murdered !

Great idea guys! Maybe an example of micro-unbranding

Originally Published: CustomersOnFire.com – microbrands & micromarketing

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

sajid September 12, 2008 at 8:17 am

that was a nice one really great!!!

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