Brand Backtracking

A brand accent or device is an image associated with a brand that does not have to appear on everything or every time that the brand is used, but is nevertheless a representation of the brand for example the Meerkat character ‘Aleksandr Orlov' is a device of CompareTheMarket.com or ‘Tetley Tea Folk' as a representation of Tetley tea.

Initially, the first accent used will establish corporate identity, brand identity and brand image, creating a loyal consumer base for brand extension.  However, brand extension must be tackled carefully in order to retain loyal consumers.

As brands develop they begin the process of evolving their marketing campaign through the use of an accent, while retaining a consistent brand experience through logo, colour, typography and visual style. However, recent trends show that some well-known brands are starting to return to former accents as part of the re-development of a marketing campaign; backwardly engineering their brand experience to move forward.

There is conflict in opinion as to whether returning to a brand's former accent is a strategic plan, a confusing backward step, a cost cutting method or just pure laziness.  If it is part of a strategic plan then the question we ask is why?

Some of the reasons for brand backtracking are:

• The nostalgic feelings that backtracking can evoke: A reminder of life ‘pre-recession', childhood memories etc

• The restoration of trust and recognition (that may have been lost on accent transition) through product familiarity

• The restatement of brand experience or status

This can be clearly seen when taking Tetley Tea as a case study. Tetley Tea was represented for 20 years by the ‘Tetley Tea Folk', but in 2001 they were replaced with a campaign to target a generation of young tea drinkers.  However, after 10 years off-screen the ‘Tetley Tea Folk' were re-launched, albeit with a new concept and modern, ‘blinged up' image, as Tetley's advertising accent. We assume that as a brand progresses the accent must maintain a modern look if it wishes to retain or develop their current market position and consumer base, so why did Tetley implement this backtrack?

Tetley received over 10,000 requests for the familiar faces to return through social media including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. How could a company, with clearly so many loyal customers, create a new campaign that goes against what the revenue generating consumers want? If Tetley ignored their main source of revenue then the brand could create a negative identity and potentially lose a large proportion of its customer base. This campaign, along with others such as ‘Compare the Market/Meerkat', show just how great an impact social media alone can have on the exploitation of characters and decisions of a brand.

Similarly from a product angle, Campbell's soup are to re-launch after being absent from the shop shelves for over two years.  However, the brand is to return with a new image where the iconic soup tins (immortalised by Andy Warhol as a subject for his pop-art) will be rendered redundant and replaced with packets and boxes.

Amongst the explanations and positive reasons as to why Tetley's, amongst others, bring back former accent identities, many believe it is a lazy, unimaginative and cost saving approach to achieving publicity for a brand.

Whether or not the approach is insipid, the campaign often works in regards to loyal consumers recognition and respect for a brand, additionally a campaign that worked decades ago stands a chance to work once again with a new generation as long as the concept is adapted to modern ways.

Other recent backtracking brands include Thomas Cook, returning to the ‘Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it' slogan,  The return of the OXO family and chocolate bar Milky Way returning and running with an animated TV advert campaign that originally aired in the 1980's, to introduce a new strapline.