Consistency (re)looked

One of the most fundamental aspects of managing a brand is its consistency, if an image needs to be maintained it can only be achieved if its done so from angle internally as well as externally. Lately there seems to be a lot of buzz especially in 'Green' department, some companies go out of thier way to ensure they stick to their principles while others....well...not so much.



Electrolux's Green Vaccum

Hats off to Electrolux for ensuring thier new green model is actually green! They've been trolling the world's  oceans to collect plastic refuse in order to create thier new model, which is a good way to reuse waste as well as clean up our oceans. It may not seem a big deal but combined with thier use of social media to generate buzz about thier new products, it is definitley a strong foundation on which to build a green, environmentally friendly green brand.

General Motors seems to have taken a page out of Electrolux's books by recycling booms to soak up oil from the oil spill to make parts for the Volt...making the Volt more green??? GM is going all out! Not only that GM is also recycling or reusing 97% of its waste which depicts an overall commitment to the environment...so now they just have to ensure all thier other cars are green as well...you can't get more committed than that!!

There is a fine balance to be maintained between brand extensions & consistency, and Oprah is one person who has managed that very well, especially with her extension into her own network, OWN, as long as her network hosts the ssame type of shows which she has been involved in and is line with her magazine, her fan base and brand consistency can be sucessfully maintained.

On the other hand there are some brands who do not maintain thier consistency very well, one such example I came across was KFC, who recently removed the 'Fried' from thier name in a bid to appear more healthy. From surveys conducted it was found that people viewed chicken to be a helathier version than beef which would KFC a natural advantage, but by having upsized combo meals and 'breadless' sandwiches does not confirm this healthy image.

Anotheer inconsistency is the Comedy Central new logo......its a coomplete reverse of their original colorful, whacky one, where the colors are dark, serious, formal and what looks like to be an altered copyright symbol...was that done intentionally?? not sure, but for one thing it does not convey the fun, and laughter which is what the channel is all about.

And finally, we all have a lesson to be learnt from GAP, don't say something which is not true, as the customer will find out! GAP's promotional bags for thier feed USA campaign proudly boast the line 'Made in the USA', when the tag clearly reads otherwise....'Made in China', now if this is not a classic case of in-consistency I cannot find a better example.