By Phil Federspiel and Dan Miller

If you are of a certain age (no need for a show of hands), no doubt you have had the experience of seeing a long-forgotten brand – perhaps in a magazine, a tag sale, movie or TV show – that prompts a “Wow, do you remember that?” Some of these brands in fact may have never gone away, languishing unloved and untouched until brand owners or savvy investors decided to scoop them up and breath new life into those old bones. Or, perhaps you’ve run across a brand that has changed dramatically in look, performance, or its very reason for being.

There are many shades to these brand makeovers but no matter what the circumstances, a careful orchestration of information and resources is a must in moving these types of initiatives forward. If any single issue stands at the center it would be a true understanding of the brand’s equities.

Knowing what can, can’t or shouldn’t carry forward based upon thoughtful metrics greatly enhances the odds for success. If a reinvention, then how will current brand devotees perceive the change? Will any potential brand disaffection be outweighed by potential gains in other consumer segments? Good information to know.

Similarly, if a reinvigoration is the plan, then an honest inquisition into whether there truly is a place in today’s market for the product is key. Some legacy brands borne out of natural remedies may fit squarely with today’s concerns over harsh chemicals and sustainability while others may simply not find a fit beyond the consumer segments whose association with the brand date back to its origins – not a strong growth proposition, if that’s the case.

“There’s something about an Aqua Velva man.”

Those who remember this ad line probably don’t know that Aqua Velva was originally developed as an alcohol-based mouthwash and a bittering agent had to be added to discourage consumption. That bit of trivia aside, Combe Inc. purchased the brand from GlaxoSmithKline with the intention of reestablishing a prominent position among men’s skin-care products. To update the brand’s look and positioning Combe commissioned an “evolutionary” design exploration keeping the blue coloring long associated with the product, and themes around water (“aqua”) to complete the transformation. By the way, the current Aqua Velva line includes an alcohol-free Ice Balm.

New life… New vision… New target… Old Brand

Mars Marathon brand once reigned in the candy aisle but now has found new life in the “energy” bar segment. Originally introduced in 1973, Mars discontinued Marathon as candy in the early 1980s. Capitalizing on the brand’s name and energy-packed composition, Mars more recently saw new and stronger market potential given trends toward active lifestyles. The initial strategy was to build new equities for Marathon in the energy bar segment by targeting elite athletes, gradually building awareness and endorsements prior to rolling into mass markets. The category’s stunning growth rate prompted Mars to shift gears and market directly to consumers. How then to provide lift for this “new” brand? Mars found it by leveraging their Snickers brand, giving Marathon an immediate and well-known platform from which to begin its new life. The lesson here is that a look in your current brand cupboard may unveil opportunities to provide co-branding/sub-branding support to a revitalized brand.

Making it Happen: One Way Forward in Tough Times

Complicating the process today is the downsizing drumbeat that continues to reverberate throughout the U.S. economy. This is leaving internal resources thin, perhaps too thin to manage such broad initiatives with long payback scenarios. Employing contract manufacturing resources allows business to use its own people to define the goals and oversee the efforts, while engaging highly qualified outside resources to execute the project tasks.

Contracting with third-party factories offers competitive advantages of experience, new technologies and cost savings. One key for success when engaging third-party factories is to safeguard the company investment by ensuring that the steps to protect the product, the brand and the company are built into the plan and not removed as a result of cost cutting. Not holding to standards can have disastrous consequences; we need look back only a few months to the highly publicized manufacturing problems in the toy and pet food industries.

Don’t let yourself fall into these dangerous scenarios:

(1) Lost Quality Ownership: Cost pressures are great, and one of the first areas usually impacted is the reduction or elimination of quality assurance people from the project, turning over these responsibilities to the contract factories. This can be very risky but at least the existing factories often are familiar with the company’s quality standards.

(2) Lost Documentation: As the project progresses, cost pressures increase, prompting buyers to choose new factories on price alone. These new factories are not familiar with the company’s quality standards and there is usually little or no transfer of documentation.

(3) High-risk Environment: Disaster strikes when these new factories respond to cost pressures of their own by cutting corners on quality, product safety or both in order to meet their own price targets.

Production management firms are a good option to provide this protection. They check production lines, ensure proper information and documentation transfer, maintain control of quality procedures and ensure desired results. These third-party firms also can manage factory audits, help ensure proper factory “Code of Conduct” and objectively report findings, ultimately safeguarding the company and protecting the brand.

Managing Change

Change always brings challenges, and as any brand manager knows even the smallest or simplest matter left unmanaged or poorly executed can derail market launches, timelines and budgets. But efforts must be made for companies to remain relevant in the future. Because change is certain, the brands of today will change and new brands will emerge, even if they are brands that are grounded in the past.

Phillip P. Federspiel is principal and chief executive officer at Group 4, an Avon, Conn.-based design firm. He can be reached at 860-678-1570, pfederspiel@groupfour.com

Daniel Miller is the founder and president of DRM Consultants, a Succasunna, N.J.-based production-management company. He can be reached at 908-230-6269, daniel.miller@drmconsultants.com