Brand realignment anyone?
Trafalgar Square red bus in London, UK/Talal Albannai/Flickr
There is a particular class at my gym which I was attending regularly, then dropped off for a while, and now am frequenting again. In the interim I noted that the instructor had changed – an older, somewhat gruff chap with all the qualities of a sergeant major (barking the instructions, expecting us to shout back replies of approbation and agreement etc.) was no longer taking the class. In his place was a younger guy whose style was more typical of the other instructors – cool and somehow combining enthusiastic with laconic.
As these people tend to come and go, I paid little attention, until at last week’s class the sergeant major returned, although it was explained he was standing in for someone on holiday. One of my regular gym buddies informed me that actually he had been replaced in the interests of ‘brand realignment’. He himself introduced the session with a somewhat ironic: ‘Hi everyone, how are you all getting on with the brand realignment then?’, and I detected more than a hint of bitterness.
Now we all are party to brand realignment from time to time. This might mean changing our preferred supermarket to a more expensive/cheaper brand, such as from Waitrose to Aldi or vice versa. I remember flying to Geneva for a one-day meeting during the early days of Easyjet. This fact was announced to everyone round the table to roars of slightly condescending laughter. Twelve years on and how many of those at the original meeting would now deny having used a budget airline? The revelations and accompanying bad publicity regarding how little corporation tax is paid in the UK by multinationals generated some very overt brand realignment away from the likes of Amazon, Starbucks and Vodafone.
What matters is whether these choices are our own or foisted upon us. I have the distinct feeling that the sergeant major was not too thrilled to be realigned. I don’t know him well enough to have the conversation that would confirm beyond doubt that this is a case of ageism, but it reminded me of the debate that went on at the BBC over older female journalists being replaced by younger models and the fact that the average age of male presenters is higher than their female counterparts.
So I decided to indulge in my own hypothetical version of brand realignment. Here follow some proposals for changes to some of our cultural icons that I hope will be of interest. I don’t personally endorse them all, just starting a conversation.. Please feel free to send in your suggestions.
| Old brand | Realigned brand |
| The Royal Family
The House of Commons Dancing round the Maypole Fish and chips National Trust estates William Shakespeare Tennis at Wimbledon Fear of Flying Opportunity Knocks The London bus |
Posh and Becks
Thorpe Park Pole dancing Stir-fried tofu Paintballing in the woods Danny Boyle Ping pong Fifty Shades of Grey The X factor The London bus |