30 Move the goalposts

30

MOVE THE GOALPOSTS

There are times when a brand will make such a radical change to its product that it forces all the others who are playing on the same pitch to pull their socks up and try a lot harder, or give up and go home. What customers thought was normal or accepted as the best they were going to get, suddenly looks outdated and meagre compared with the new stuff.

The idea In the 1970s, you were lucky if an ice cream shop offered more than three fl avours: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. You could add a Cadbury’s Flake (a “99”) or monkey blood, a red topping with an unidentifi able fruit fl avour. Maybe you would stumble across the occasional chocolate chip or rum ’n’ raisin. A very smart establishment might sell lemon and orange sorbets (sherbets in the US).

Then came Baskin-Robbins. They were established in the US in 1945, so for Americans 31 fl avours probably seemed normal, but to us in the UK it was if a spaceship had landed from another planet bringing previously unimagined variety.

Naturally, they encountered the neo-sceptics who wondered why anyone needed so many different fl avours, and what was wrong with vanilla anyway? Baskin-Robbins had moved the goalposts so far, they’d rewritten the rules of the game.

In practice • It’s an opportunity to get talked about, to hammer home your brand values. It’s also risky. Others have probably tried and failed. If you can, test the idea fi rst. • You’re building on new ground, so make sure that the foundations are fi rm, that you’re ready, that your quality is up to scratch and that you’ll delight everyone who comes along to fi nd out what you’re up to. • You need to grab the attention of the opinion formers, back it up with a PR campaign.