The power of a brand can be substantial. In a marketplace where differentiation is exceedingly nuanced, a brand can represent THE criteria on which consumers invest their desires and dollars. Although brand prestige can enter the calculation, I'd argue that it is only a byproduct of the brand's integrity to the idea it expresses. For example, owning a Porsche may impart some level of prestige, but the prestige is dependent on Porsche's past and current fulfillment of a very specific form and function. In other words, prestige never precedes brand expression. This brings me to the point of this post.
I've been noticing more and more of what I'll call "brand betrayal". It occurs when a brand is intentionally leveraged to sell a product that expressly fails to attain the implied brand idea. It's insidious, exploitative, and can only be for the purpose of creating short-term profit. After all, betrayal is the antithesis of the integrity that "brand" embodies.
J.A. Henckels, a German cutlery manufacturer, is a case in point. For 275 years, they've claimed to make the finest knifes you can buy. In fact, they do manufacture astoundingly great knifes. The problem is that they've taken to selling at least one set of knifes (under the J.A. Henckels moniker) that is quite terrible. I'm being completely serious when I say that any amount of money you'd pay for this poorly crafted set of knifes, carrying the J.A. Henckels name, would be too much. You could surely buy the same set of knifes -- sans the J.A. Henckels logo -- for a tiny fraction of the cost. The company is leveraging their brand identity to inflate the value of a product that fails to attain the brand's promise.
The recent pet food catastrophe is another case in point. Someone please explain to me how a company, such as Iams/Eukanuba, can survive the plublicity of the fact that some of their products are the exact same products manufactured by Menu Foods and sold under a hundred other low-cost grocery store brand names. Eukanuba's web site makes the grandiose claim:
From the beginning, Eukanuba has stood for producing our highest quality dog food product to help nurture the best qualities in dogs. [Source]
The people who work at Eukanuba love the breed - and all its details. It's understanding the subtle nuances that help us make quality, customized dog food. [Source]
Brand betrayal is different from outright lying about the quality of their products, which you could normally verify. Instead, it's giving you plenty of evidence that their products are superior, and then substituting an inferior product at a superior price.
I'm left to wonder how much brand betrayal can occur in a market place before "brand" loses its advantage for consumers as an inexpensive alternative to exhaustive research.
Adrianne Young