Why would a brand give up on a winning brand promise? Why not contemporize that winning brand promise? Why decide it is best to copy strategies from other brands when you already have a winning strategy that just needs some modernizing?
Macy’s last earnings call (August 2024) showed a second-quarter adjusted earnings of 53 cents. Analysts’ estimates were only 30 cents. That beat did not positively affect Macy’s stock price. Macy’s concerns about “ discriminating” consumers soured the analyst community and Wall Street denizens, according to financial newspaper, Barron’s.
Once upon a time, someone at Ford Motor Company may have known what the Lincoln brand stood for in the customer’s mind. But, that was then. Over the years, defining Lincoln has been a challenge. In 2019, Lincoln decided the brand would be American Luxury. That was an undefined title. It was left to the potential customer to fill in the blanks. Today, American Luxury is Sanctuary, as in a refuge or a sacred place.
In its latest earnings call, Beyond Meat articulated a three-step turnaround plan.
Here is marketing’s greatest flaw: there is no legal definition of a brand. Everyone speaks about protecting their brands. But it is difficult to protect something when it is not a legal entity.
