A Different Branding Experience – The New Vegemite

You may have heard that Vegemite  announced the name of their new product last weekend. The new cheesy concoction is to be known as ‘i Snack 2.0′. The name was suggested by a Perth web designer, in a competition and chosen from more than 40,000 others.

Marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries say the ‘birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising’ . The media that has ensued has certainly answered that objective.

It remains to be seen whether the name will remain or indeed is part of some publicity activity  of a larger plan.  Indeed, doubt still exists as to whether Coke’s 1985 introduction and subsequent withdrawl of New Coke, was a publicity stunt.

For any business, the brand name decision is key. It seeks to be memorable, own the category and authentically represent the product’s values.  ‘i Snack 2.0’ doesn’t seem right . Here are some reasons:

Feels like they’re trying to cash in on all things ‘ i ’ to win instant cool.  But having an ‘i ’ in front of a product doesn’t make it cool. The product itself has to fulfill that promise. The reason iphones, imacs and ipods are cool, are because they are innovative and functional products which live up to their brand promise.

Is ‘i ’ relevant .. ?  The ‘ i ‘ doesn’t seem relevant here. Apple has ownership of the ‘i ’ categories .. and if they introduced a snack to eat while you are on your Iphone or working on your imac ..it would seem a more natural extension.

The name is a mouthful (sorry – bad pun). From twitter: ‘ Seriously? iSnack 2.0 name 4 new Vegemite.’ Do you want jam,Vegemite or iSnack 2.0 on your toast? ..’RT @sammutimer: RT @bonniebullock

An ‘ i’ in front of the product doesn’t necessarily give instant access to a younger audience.  Younger audiences are known to be more discerning and wary of marketing messages. Any suspected manipulation or exploitation may in fact   turn them away.

And just as it is that not only  young people use all things ‘i ’, older people might be interested in this new Vegemite product .. after all we’ve lived and experienced the previous one for a long time!

Ries and Ries propose their 21^st law of Immutable Branding as the ‘Law of Mortality’: ‘No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution’.

Wonder if this will be the fate of i Snack 2.0?

What do you think?

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