One of the most valuable assets a company could have is its brand. A strong brand is one which many people recognize and understand what it represents. It also has a high perceived value where consumers see a product or service’s benefits as a fair trade off for its costs. Finally when consumers reflect on the brand, their minds must make conections with attributes that the company wants their brand to be associated with. An organization may already have a strong brand, but over time as consumer preferences change rebranding becomes neccessary.
In the case of Madison, Wisconsin the city experienced problems during Halloween on State Street where students would crowd the street and cause as much trouble as they could. In response to this the city trained and sent more security to the area, but after this failed the city tried a new approach, rebranding.
One of the main purposes of the Halloween party was not only to have fun, but to cause as much trouble for the establishment as possible. The mayor recognized this and decided to call the event Freak Fest to allign with the people’s preferences. In addition the city decided to isolate the street by fencing it off from the rest of society and installing floodlights thus emphasizing the name Freak Fest and adding value to the consumers. The city also got pop band, Lifehouse to play a set at the event. I disagree with the city’s decision to do this because Lifehouse’s music does not suit the event. Something more appropriate to match the event’s objectives would be a heavy metal band.
Note: this was blog was a response to http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_45/b4202084038080.htm