RadioShack Experiences a Shack Attack
This was a big week for RadioShack as the 88-year old company announced that it’s reintroducing itself as simply “The Shack.” According to an article in USA Today, the company is making the change in an effort to maintain its brand heritage while also attracting more tech-savvy shoppers. The article goes on to say that a new ad campaign will focus on the company’s knowledgeable sales staff and the idea that their small stores are easier to navigate than big-box competitors.
Bloggers and Twitterers buzzed about the change all week long - many were quite critical saying the name change doesn’t pull the company out of relative obscurity compared to sleeker rivals like Best Buy. One blogger wrote that his impression of RadioShack is that it’s a brand that “never made the jump to the 21st Century” and that this re-name doesn’t do enough to give the brand a larger overhaul to make it relevant.
Any time you make a change to your brand, it’s perfectly natural to experience resistance, both from your customers and your employees. What will make this a win for RadioShack will be well-trained, engaged employees who are truly enrolled in and representing the fundamentals of the brand to customers. This is the foundation of internal-external marketing alignment, and it can make or break a shift in your brand.
This is is critical in the face of competitor Best Buy who recently launched a new program on Twitter called Twelpforce: “A collective force of Best Buy technology pros offering tech advice in Tweet form.”
What do you think of RadioShack’s name change? Does it impact whether or not you will shop at the store? Leave us your comments and tell us what’s on your mind.
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August 18th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I think RadioShack’s name change is a great change in name for branding. Unfortunately, it is probably too little too late. Their layout, their employees, their inventory, their whole package does not fit the brand; there’s the rub. You can call something whatever yuo want, but the brand is what the customer gets, not what you call yourself. The Shack is very cool and sounds great, but unless they do a whole makeover yesterday, I don’t think they’ll make it, except in small towns that don’t have access to Best Buy; the type of towns that still have True Value Hardware stores and 50’s style bowling alleys and quaint little mom & pop shops.
Just my thoughts. The Shack is a cool name, but I have never been successful at finding what I want there, and the employees have never seemed to know much. I stopped shopping there several years ago; it just got too frustrating.
Remember: You ARE your brand. Your people are your brand. What it says on the building doesn’t make it so.
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