rebranding MARK7520

The Color of Money

In recent days there has been a greater push, both economically and socially, to move away from racially sensitive imagery in use with consumer packaged goods- particularly with some common household foods. Just this week, several brands have announced that they will be changing their packaging to reflect newer societal norms, and move away from insensitive past positions. Among these are products such as: Aunt Jemima breakfast foods (syrup, pancake mix, cornmeal, grits- owned by Quaker Oats), Mrs. Butterworth’s breakfast foods (Conagra Brands), Uncle Ben’s rice mixes (Mars Company), and others (USA Today, 2020). Land O’ Lakes Inc. also quietly removed the Native American woman from their logo back in April (NYT, 2020).

	From a market research perspective, it does not take an effort of an entire team of individuals to tell why some of these products are problematic. Some are emblematic of slavery-era individuals portrayed in such a light some 150 years later, others are outdated entirely on name alone, such as the Washington Redskins National Football League organization. As an aside, Land O’ Lakes is effectively using the same packaging as before, just without the print of the Native American woman on it- which may be a very cost effective and optimal solution for them, since their name “Land O’ Lakes” is not anything most people would consider to be offensive. As Americans and people across the globe move into a new era of social responsibility, their focus on the products they consume, and how they are received has grown. To enact serious brand changes and updates, these companies will have to take a look at their strongest performance indicators- what is selling their product aside from the name recognition itself. In order to have a successful product re-launch, essentially, they will have to lean on their best demographics and appeal to them in ways that make the product look less mundane and more exemplary. Pancake mix and syrup are a staple of most households with children, certainly, and the warm, inviting, family-driven feel of the product has been a key ingredient of past successful campaigns. Is it still possible to represent different races as their logos or spokespersons , or do they shift to a more neutral, potentially non-mascot driven look? That is a question that the market will answer shortly. The challenge for the respective market research departments for these companies is that they must look not only at the past successes, but now into the future expectations of their brands: can these new changes lead them into an evolutionary period of rebranding/repackaging or repositioning, or will it send them to the grave?

	Aunt Jemima, as an extension of Quaker Oats, which a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo, particularly is in a difficult position. Although exact data is difficult to find on market leaders, the marketplace for syrups and pancake mixes, which the brand is known for, has quite a few big players. The Research and Markets web store for the pancakes market lists General Mills, C.H. Guenther & Son, J.M. Smucker, and Continental Mills, among others, as strong entrants in the arena who have no such obstacles to the sale and marketing of their product, and stand to benefit greatly from a potential loss of market share from Quaker Oats/Aunt Jemima if there is a potential boycott of the product. They could also be damaged by a loss of brand identity. Given that this market is not dominated by any particular brand, and there are also regional markets like Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods and Hodgson Mill that hold their own, Aunt Jemima is in position to lose much more than their name, if a solid marketing campaign and successful rebrand do not go smoothly (Research and Markets, 2018).

	There is historical precedent for such moves, however. The most famous of which is likely the Philip Morris company, now known as Altria. In 2001, Philip Morris announced that they were changing their name to Altria, after many years of having their brand damaged from various lawsuits and surgeon general’s warnings, as well as being disbarred from TV advertising back in 1970. By 2003, they had enacted a total brand renewal by treating Altria as a holding company, though they continued to operate Philip Morris tobacco entirely unchanged (Smith, Malone, 2003). Similarly, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, formerly one of the five largest accounting firms alongside PWC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG , went under in 2001 following dual scandals in Enron and WorldCom accounting fraud, and were reborn as Accenture, which has regained some of the stature Arthur Andersen once possessed, though without the auditing division of the company (Accenture, 2001). Given the stories of these two companies, which were certainly market leaders at the time of their changes, it is certainly possible that a successful rebrand for Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Mrs. Butterworth’s could help them rise from controversy into a stronger position in a rather short time and grow their brand nationally, and beyond.