7 Reasons Why Brands Fail

t’s like throwing a party for cats and inviting only dogs. Remember the infamous New Coke debacle? They didn’t listen to their loyal Coke drinkers who were firmly against the change. Always keep your audience in mind; it’s cheaper than therapy, and they appreciate not being ignored.

You can wrap a mediocre product in a shiny brand, but it’s still mediocre. Just look at Fyre Festival – the golden illusion of a dream island adventure crumbled into the reality of sad cheese sandwiches and disaster relief tents. Focus on delivering consistent, high-quality products that answer your customers' and clients' needs, wants and pain points.

If your brand’s identity changes more often than your socks, you’re in trouble. Gap tried to change their logo and faced such backlash they reverted within a week. Consistency is key – save the surprises for birthday parties.

Treating customer opinions like elevator music – background noise – can doom your brand. MySpace, anyone? They ignored their users and got left in the digital dust. Always engage with your customers and value their input.

If your strategy involves more guesswork than game plan, you’re winging it. Think of Burger King's poor attempt at empowering women on International Women's Day in 2021 when they posted "Women belong in the kitchen" to Twitter (now X) to gain traction and follow on with a series of posts that actually empower women. This was clearly not well received and poorly thought out leaving a permanent burn on Burger King's reputation. Craft a solid, adaptable marketing strategy that resonates with your audience – and test and review to avoid major damage.

Standing still in a moving world is a bad look. Take Kodak for example – a well known brand that owned the photography market. The business failed to keep up with the shifts in digital photography and as a result lead to its demise. Don't get trapped in time, change is imminent and managing that change is key.