Ratner’s When honesty is not the best policy

Enron Failing the truth

Little remains to be said about the rise and scandalous fall of Texan energy giant Enron. In the relatively short space of 15 years, Enron rose from nowhere to become the seventh-largest company in the United States, and the most well-known energy supplier in the world. It boasted over 21,000 employees and had a presence in more than 40 countries. For further story listen to the complete podcast.

F. W. Woolworth

On 6 January 2009 the last of the 813 Woolworth stores that had operated for the best part of a century in the United Kingdom closed their doors for the last time. At one level this could just have been a story about another victim of the prevailing credit crunch, but Woolworth’s brand problems predate that. for further story listen to the full podcast.

Tommy Hilfiger The power of the logo

Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world’s best-loved designer clothing brands. During the 1990s Tommy Hilfiger moved from being a small, niche brand targeting upper-class US consumers to becoming a global powerhouse with broad youth appeal. But then, in 2000, the brand was suddenly in trouble. From a high of US $40 per share in May 1999, Tommy Hilfiger’s share price fell to US $22.62 on New Year’s Day 2000 and was cut in half again by the end of that year. Sales were slowing and, most tellingly, flagship stores in London and Beverly Hills closed down. Various runway shows at fashion events worldwide were also canceled. for further story listen to the full podcast.

Quaker Oats’ Snapple Failing to understand the essence of the brand

In 1994, food giant the Quaker Oats Company bought a quirky soft-drink brand called Snapple for US $1.7 billion. The company felt confident that the drink brand was worth the price tag because it had already achieved astounding success with the sports drink Gatorade. However, in terms of brand identity, the two drinks couldn’t have been further apart. Gatorade was about sports and a high-energy, athletic image. Snapple, on the other hand, had always been promoted as a New Agey and fashionable alternative to standard soft drink brands. for further story listen to the full podcast.

Ratner’s When honesty is not the best policy

One of the most popular and influential books ever written about marketing is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout and first published in 1993. Their fifteenth ‘law’ is ‘the law of candour’. This states that if a company admits a negative aspect about a brand, the consumer will think more highly about that brand because of the company’s sheer honesty. for further story listen to the full podcast.