A colleague who gets Marketing strategy as well as anyone gave me this response as an email to the blog post on Quiksilver brand extension. I thought it was worth sharing:
Analogy.
I’m a Ferrari driver. It’s a badge that represents my success and status, and I’m proud to admit it.
Do I want to see the bogan or hodad driving down Chapel St on Friday night with a Ferrari key ring?
I earnt that Key ring.
Which stall at Vic Market did he buy it with his $7.99 VB T-shirt?
Like it or not, I’m now slightly resentful of the exclusive brand I thought I was a part of, and will think twice about the same brand next time around (Actually if I had a Ferrari I wouldn’t give a rats, but you get my point…)
As a surfer, I’m stoked that my exclusive board brand which bonded me to my boarding community, is now being slutted to mummies and daddies to dribble on every night when they go to sleep, who wake up wondering what that symbol on their pillow actually represents, and who are even more fascinated as to why they would also put that logo on surf boards which they see when they frolic in the sand down on the coast once a year….
That’s Diworsification.
PS What’s exactly is a Hodad?
(me – A hodad is a person who wears surf clothing but has never been surfing, or on a beach for that matter)
no doubt you can’t keep everyone happy .. so do you want to spread to a bigger group of people who buy in to the surf/youth identity and spend on apparel from board shorts to bedding .. or keep to a smaller group who might have been where your story started, but aren’t big enough in volume to grow your business? Hmmmm. Does this move weaken the story? That depends on how well Quicksilver can tell it of course .. I know I won’t have a surfer in my ear whispering Quicksilver have sold out when I buy my son some QS boardies and perhaps a doona as well. Things grow and evolve. As a textile company, extending production from boardies/shirts/shorts/towels into bedding seems a pretty smart use of existing resources. Got all the skills, lets give it a shot. Now that might get on your goat .. but it seems ok to me 🙂