Brand Extension…Maybe
Let’s say you are the manufacturer of a product that’s been around for years, does its job well, and is pretty popular - except for the fact that it’s responsible for a few thousand deaths among children every year. You might want to come up with a way to counter bad press and bad feeling by extending your brand in a direction that softens and broadens your image.
I can imagine a meeting at Smith & Wesson:
Marketing Guy #1: Gee, we need something to show that we’re not just about guns and danger.
Marketing Guy #2: We’re not about killing, we’re about protecting yourself. Staying safe.
MG #1: I’ve got it. We’ll sell a “Kid Safe Kit,” that contains everything you need to protect your kids from our other products.
MG #2: Have you priced bullet-proof vests lately? The CFO will never go for it.
MG #1: OK, then, we’ll protect kids from being abducted by creeps.
MG #2: Let’s call them “Tricky People.”
MG #1: Genius!
I found this Smith & Wesson “Kit Safe Kit” at my local pharmacy. It includes an ID kit for fingerprinting your child, an ID card, a safety poster, and a guide for parents telling them what to do if their child is abducted. There’s also a 30-minute training video for kids, and a “Personal Security Device” that emits a “screech” alarm when its pin is pulled.
I’m not sure if the Kid Safe Kit has any actual value for parents, but I seriously doubt it has any value for Smith & Wesson. In order for a product to succeed, its manufacturer must have credibility. Designers sometimes call it getting permission to succeed from the consumer. Smith & Wesson is asking parents to make a big leap directly from “Smith & Wesson products are not good for my children” to “This S&W product is good for my children.”
Extending your brand is a great thing, and we’ve worked with clients to rethink their brands to be broader than just about their main product. Continuum helped Master Lock think of itself as a security company, not a lock company, and that helped the company expand its product line, its marketing, and its channel. And Smith & Wesson may indeed see itself as a “protection” company, not a gun manufacturer. But the “Kid Safe Kit” doesn’t extend their line so much as it underscores the company’s image problem.
Question for you: How can your company extend its brand?
