Month: October 2012

This Internet comic challenges a few assumptions that many people make about branding. First, popular convention is to put brightly colored labels on grocery products to make them aesthetically pleasing. However, it is very possible that in a crowded isle of different colors a plain white label would stand out. Second, it proposes a sort of brand paradox; the products are branded by their uniqueness in the fact that they have no brand. I then did research to see how well this actually worked; The No Name brand of household products uses a similar tactic.

This brand, introduced by Loblaw Companies Limited in the 1970s, aimed to provide similar, if slightly less quality, items for a bargain price. Price was its point of difference, which they emphasized using unique marketing strategies such as this:

Overall, this approach was very successful. No name became the best-selling food brand in the mid-1980s, and had a certain status for customers who wanted to be seen as savvy shoppers. This reminds us that a company’s brand identity is not simply its name, its label, or its colors, but the feelings or attributes associated with the company. It is how the company or the product is viewed by the public. The company chose the commercials, the name and the plain packaging all to get the customers to view the product as plain, simple, and cost-effective.

References

. “brandchannel.com | Loblaw Companies Ltd. | No Name Brand | No Name | Discount Brands | Recession Brands | Generic Brands | Canadian Brands | print version.” brandchannel.com | always branding. always on.. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. <http://www.brandchannel.com/print_page.asp?ar_id=433§ion=profile>.

“Super market man”, Maclean’s, November 3, 1986

“Retailers fight slump by pushing generics – thestar.com.” News, Toronto, GTA, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Canada, World, Breaking – thestar.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thestar.com/article/571945>.

Ben Gardiner’s post How American Retailers will save the Canadian Business argues that Target opening up 165 stores in Canada and replacing Zellers will be beneficial to the Canadian economy, helping consumers and retailers alike. His main arguments are that the new Target stores will increase foot traffic in malls, create jobs, and will keep many dedicated Target fans from crossing the border to shop.

Although retailers that don’t overlap products with Target may benefit from the increased traffic in malls, overall Target poses a large threat to current Canadian retailers such as Canadian Tire and Sears.  According to Sears CEO Calvin McDonald, Sears overlaps with Target in about 70% of its merchandise. Due to their similar product lines, many retailers will engage in a price war as they strive to differentiate themselves from their competition. This may be beneficial to consumers, but major Canadian retailers are bound to take a hit, especially considering Target store sales are expected to be 200 to 300% higher than the Zellers they replaced. For more info: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/on-target-time-the-race-to-prepare-for-a-new-rival/article4573270/

Links for More Info

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/01/target-to-steal-sales-from-sears-canadian-tire-barclays/

Whether or not this change will increase employment is an interesting question, but is too large for the scope of this post. Read about the 10,000 laid off Zellers employees who protested the change to Target at http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/08/22/target-canada-zellers-protest_n_1822223.html