I'd argue that it's very hard to build a strong brand with a weak product. I can't think of an example (but I'd really like to hear any examples you can think of). But I can think of lots of strong brands with poor logos (Microsoft and Google is a good place to start). What set me thinking about this was a great documentary series on BBC 2, Business Nightmares, with Evan Davis. There were two examples that I found fascinating.
The first was Persil. It was the market leader in the early nineties, but Unilever (the owners of Persil) were concerned about the growing popularity of Aerial (owned by Procter & Gamble). To combat this Unilever developed Persil Power, a super strength powder that would be tough on stains (which was Aerial's claim). However, Persil Power was too strong. It damaged clothes.
In the face of mounting criticism across the media and from disgruntled consumers, the supermarkets began to take it off the shelves, and Unilever were forced to withdraw it. It's estimated that £57m worth of stock was written off, and the whole project cost Unilever £250m. That's an expensive mistake, and massively damaging to the reputation of Persil. But there's a happy ending (for Unilever)! Four years later they were the market leader again, as they introduced a new product: Persil Tablets.
The other example is Coca Cola, and their attempt to introduce New Coke in 1985. It was launched with all the showbiz razzamatazz you'd expect from the world's biggest soft drink. Pepsi - number two in the market - had been increasing their market share with The Pepsi Challenge, a taste test that was highlighting the fact that a lot of people preferred the taste of Pepsi to Coke. Coca Cola were concerned.
Now Coca Cola didn't make this change lightly. They carried out almost 200,000 taste tests with Coke drinkers, and the results showed that 61% preferred the 'new' tatse. So the decision was made to introduce New Coke, to replace the original. There was outrage. Coke drinkers were angry. Facing rebellion from their loyal customers Coca Cola announced that they would revert to the original flavour, just 79 days after the launch of New Coke.
But Coca Cola recognised the mistake they had made. At the taste test they asked people which taste they preferred. They didn't ask them how they would feel if they replaced the 'old' taste with the 'new' taste.
So what can we learn from this? Well, even if you are a market leader, you can do significant damage to your brand, if your audience don't like your product. So if you want to build a strong brand, start with a strong product or service.
And the logo? Well, a good logo isn't going to do you any harm...
