The main article on Brandchannel today talks about good brands go bad. But the article is more focused on what happens when product components for competing brands are manufactured by the same company -- do the individual brands lose what makes them unique?
Like many issues in life, the answer isn't quite as black and white as that. While the ingredients are the same, the "recipe" may be different...or at least it better be.
I believe bigger issues are who's the target market and what are the influential attributes for that target market? Are they price-driven? Are they quality driven? Are they early-adopters who always want to be seen as trend leaders? When a company understands the market segment's influential attributes the company should be clear abpit where to put its money in the production / delivery process as well as what to emphasize in brand building and marketing.
This then becomes a huge guide in the decision making process. For example, if Mattel had really been plugged in to the fact that safety was an influential attribute and committed to make that a core brand element, they wouldn't have made business decisions that ultimately sacrificed safety. They would have been able to ask themselves "How will this decision impact safety of our product? Will it improve safety, keep it at the same level, or will it run the risk of lowering safety?"
Companies also need to communicate with all brand components that the influential attributes of the target should be key decision drivers for the business.
Is your company aware of its target's influential attributes? How do they impact decisions? Do you share this information with employees at every level so they understand how their actions and decisions impact the brand and ultimately, the consumer?
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