Brand extensions have been hailed as the Holy Grail for those seeking to maximize the hefty investments required to build a brand. But how to successfully extend a brand remains elusive to many marketers.
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We become snarled in our own category limitations -- packaged goods, CE, automotive, etc. -- which hinder our ability to think creatively about how the brand could be extended. We need to take off the blinders and examine the most common form of brand extensions today -- TV shows, movies, even the stars themselves. The world of entertainment is rife with "brands" that have extended themselves successfully.
If we redefine what we consider "brand," we can glean ideas and insights about brand extension from spin-off's, sequels, and celebrity reinventions. Here are three ways brand extensions can work Hollywood-style: 1. offer the same product in a new context; 2. present a distinct personality and style across a range of experiences; and 3. define and exploit innovation as brand.
First, offering the same product in a new context. Isn't that what the producers of CSI: Crime Scene Investigators have done with CSI: Miami and the newly launched CSI: New York? The "product attributes" are the same across all three series – a strong but somehow tragic male hero; a cohort of sexy, young underlings; a crime scene with clues; and a startling discovery that cracks the case.
But the context of the "product" changes with each series -- you've got the guts behind the grandeur of Vegas, the glamour of Miami, and the grit of New York City. The success of this extension approach is apparent in the shows' Nielsen ratings.
So how can you create a CSI-style brand extension – same product, different context? Black & Decker did it by adding cordless power tools to its line-up, Gap did it with Baby Gap, and Tylenol did it with Extra Strength, 8-Hour, PM and Arthritis pain products.
Lest you think good brand extensions are limited to product extensions alone, stretch your definition of "product" to the benefits it provides and you get extensions like Starbucks' Hear Music (the benefit of a warm, convenient "third place" to enjoy your daily creature comforts) and Lego's benefit of fun, constructive play now at LegoLand theme parks.
We can glean ideas and insights about brand extension from spin-off's, sequels, and celebrity reinventions.
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Secondly, the world of entertainment has successfully extended "brands" by presenting a distinct personality and style across a range of experiences. Think James Bond. Die Another Day, the 20th installment in the perennial run of Bond films, grossed 27 percent more in box office receipts than its most recent predecessor, and 10 times the amount of the first Bond movie (Dr. No in 1963, for you trivia buffs).
How has the Bond "brand" sustained such phenomenal growth? Each new film is less a sequel and more an entirely new premise in which to experience the distinctive suavity and style of James Bond. He brings to each encounter a way of doing and being that is uniquely Bond.
But each film serves up a different scenario and viewers are drawn in time and again to experience James in a whole new way. It is the familiarity of a distinct style and personality juxtaposed with the novelty of each new and different experience that makes the extensions work.
Virgin is an example of a brand that has successfully gone this route for extensions. Brand Virgin brings a slightly rebellious but always warm and fresh personality to businesses that range from an airline to a wireless telecom. Vera Wang is a less obvious example, but Vera Wang brand devotees will praise the designer for extending her sophisticated yet classic brand style from its wedding dress origins into new categories like fragrance and jewelry.
Our last brand lesson is about defining your brand by innovation and then exploiting that definition to extend the brand into new territories and identities. This lesson can be learned best from the grand dame of music, Madonna.
Madonna has reinvented herself at least 10 times in the 20 years since she emerged on the national stage with "Material Girl." From boy-toy to Esther (the name she has taken since following kaballah), Madonna has relentlessly pursued innovation – always a new sound, new look, new style, new persona. The Madonna "brand" is defined by innovation – she's earned the permission to extend her "brand" so liberally.
A brand story which engages people ... is the most valuable asset a brand can leverage for extensions.
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Now, this drive for innovation should not be confused with making news for news' sake. While Madonna explains, "I am an artist at heart and my heart forces me to keep my eyes open and to try new things," Britney Spears claims, "I've turned from a little nice school girl, into this sexy, slutty seductress. And I like it... I like it a lot." The former is defined by innovation; the latter by headline-grabbing. How many people think Britney will be around in 2019 (20 years from her first hit album)?
Innovation as brand explains the repeated successes of Nike brand extensions. Nike continually enters new sports, presents a fresh look, offers a new product – extensions from Nike are accepted, even expected. Quiksilver stands out as another brand committed to innovation. The people behind the Quiksilver brand are always looking for new ways to connect with their target – and it shows in every new extension.
So whether it's CSI or Bond or Madonna – these are more than just great entertainment; they're "brands" that have been successfully extended several times over.
While each of these examples demonstrates a different approach to brand extension, they all leverage a common foundation – each has a compelling story which is the core of their brand. A brand story which engages people in such a way that piques their curiosity and fuels their drive to know more is the most valuable asset a brand can leverage for extensions.
Once you've engaged consumers' imagination, you have many options for how to extend your brand – whether that's an entertainment "brand" or a consumer goods brand. So, let's keep those blinders off and take a fresh look at brand extensions. Hollywood has figured it out – it isn't rocket science – it's just great storytelling.
Former Sony marketing VP, Denise Lee Yohn, partners with her clients as an independent resource on strategic brand execution. She can be reached at mail@deniseleeyohn.com.
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