RADIOSHACK
01 VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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RADIOSHACK VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
INSPIRE
MOTIVATE
LEARN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 CHAPTER
BRAND OVERVIEW
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08. Brand History 14. RadioShack Timeline 16. RadioShack Logo Timeline 18. Our Mission
02 CHAPTER
THE PAST [ ] 22. Previous Look 24. Previous Competitor
Visual Strategy Guide
03 CHAPTER
THE FUTURE 28. Our New Look 30. Our Audience 42. Future Competitor
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Radio Shack is continuously seeking new ways to ensure we are providing the American consumer with greater value. —Leonard Roberts President of RadioShack and Tandy
01 + BRAND OVERVIEW
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Visual Strategy Guide
BRAND OVERVIEW
Radio Shack has been in business since 1921 (over 90 years) as a leading national retailer of innovative technology products and services, including personal, mobile, home technology, and power supply products. For 65 of those years, they have produced outstanding electronics and technology catalogs with a wide range of products and services from leading national brands to exclusive private brands. It offers a retail service concept unlike any other specialty consumer electronics retailer. Through its convenient and comfortable neighborhood stores, knowledgeable sales associates help customers get the most out of their technology products. Products from the RadioShack catalog were purchased by professionals, hobbyists, and everyday consumers. RadioShack has created a loyal following of customers through their associates’ expertise and collaborative spirit with consumers, celebrating the longstanding idea that “two heads are better than one.” In a marketplace that is continuously flooded with new technology, it is this mantra that differentiates RadioShack from other retailers.
Brand Overview
[1] RadioShack Store, 1972 [2] RadioShack Model 2 Micro Computer [3] Electronic Component Assembly
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Visual Strategy Guide
BRAND HISTORY —You've got questions. We've got answers.
RadioShack founded in 1921, sold radio parts and surplus
reputation as the place to go for gear. In the Internet
supplies by outlet and catalog. But it was almost bankrupt
bubble, the stock closed at a high of $78.50 a share.
when it was purchased in 1963 by Tandy Corporation, a
But the company had already lost its focus. The big box
leather retailer.
stores like Best Buy began to capture the bulk of the
At the time, RadioShack had just nine stores. But it expanded rapidly to become a hobbyist’s dream. RadioShack became a mythical place for all things related to electronics, catering not just to the do-it-yourselfers but to anyone in search of the latest gadgets. RadioShack also knew how to ride a wave. During the CB radio craze of the 1970s, RadioShack was the leading retailer of CBs. It was doing so well that at one point, it was opening about three stores a day.
electronics business. RadioShack remained largely your local stop for electronics gear. The problem was that most of the equipment became cables and ancillary things to make the computers go. Looking yet again for a new business model, RadioShack seized on mobile. But this merely made RadioShack a pawn in the cellphone wars as it tried to profit from selling a commodity. RadioShack had some initial successes with sales in kiosks in Sam’s Clubs, but when RadioShack became too successful, Sam’s Club’s owner, Walmart, took
RadioShack entered the 1980s poised to be the center of
away the contract. And an attempt to sell phones at Target
the computer revolution. Indeed, in 1977, the company had
failed. The move to smartphones squeezed RadioShack’s
introduced one of the first mass-produced computers, the
margins, as did cellphone companies’ move to have their
TRS-80, and initially outsold Apple using the power of its
own stores.
retail channel and its thousands of locations.But from that perch, RadioShack went nowhere.
RadioShack tried many paths. But going in all directions without a full commitment is not enough, particularly when
Failures abounded. RadioShack phased out its computer
the core brand is not sustained. RadioShack has branded
business in 1993 along with its circuit board business. That
itself well but it led itself too far from its strengths.
year too, the company sold its cellphone manufacturing business. Instead of concentrating on RadioShack and building up its offerings, the company tried new concepts with new stores: Computer City to sell computers, Energy Express Plus to sell batteries, Famous Brand Electronics for refurbished electronics, McDuff and Video Concepts for audio and video, and the Incredible Universe, which became the company’s Best Buy knockoff. None of these worked, and all were either closed or sold off by the late 1990s. Still, RadioShack had a terrific
Today, RadioShack offers a retail service concept unlike any other specialty consumer electronics retailer. Through its convenient and comfortable neighborhood stores, knowledgeable sales associates help customers get the most out of their technology products. RadioShack’s legendary force of knowledgeable and helpful sales associates has been consistently recognized by several independent groups for providing the best customer service in the consumer electronics and wireless industries.
Brand Overview
[1] RadioShack Store, 1970 [2] RadioShack Model 2 Micro Computer [3] Charles D. Tandy—the Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Tandy Corporation.
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Visual Strategy Guide
[1] RadioShack Store, 2014 [2] DIY 3D Printer
Brand Overview
WHAT WENT WRONG RadioShack had been faltering well before the Salus episode. Over the years, the chain gradually lost the distinction of being a popular hangout for hobbyists and electronics enthusiasts, who were attracted by the parts, manuals and catalogs it carried. Along the way, it refashioned itself as a retailer of cell phones and later failed to adapt to online retailing, losing market share to Best Buy, Apple and Amazon. Cheaper and easy online availability of electronic parts also severely eroded its reputation as a place for electronics hobbyists. RadioShack started out as a hobbyist’s dream, selling the latest gadgets and CB (Citizens’Band) radios, and that at one point in the 1970s it was opening up to three stores a day. In those years, it also built one of the first early home computers, the TRS-80. RadioShack also failed to adapt when its markets began changing. Many people who were hobbyists had less leisure time and so they weren’t buying as much, customers changed—the kids today haven’t even heard of RadioShack. RadioShack tried to keep up with the changes in the electronics industry by constantly altering its offerings. they gave up their service orientation of having skilled and trained employees on all things tech. They lost their focus, and in the end it was an undifferentiated business and having so many stores, it is hard to make large-scale changes happen. RadioShack still has a lot of brand equity; it is an iconic brand. But the company faces a tough road ahead. RadioShack would have to do something exciting to make themselves look good, to make them appealing to the younger generation. They have to remodel their stores and
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Visual Strategy Guide
RADIO SHACK TIMELINE
1947
1963
Radio Shack opens the first audio showroom to feature speakers, amplifiers, turntables and phonograph cartridges. Also that year, Charles D. Tandy joins the family business and would soon begin to chart a new direction for the company’s expansion.
1919
Tandy buys the RadioShack chain.
Two friends start the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company in Fort Worth, Texas, supplying leather shoe parts and supplies to repair shops.
Two brothers open the first “Radio Shack” in Boston. The small retail and mail-order business supplied ship radio equipment and “ham” radios, and was named for the small wooden structure onboard ships that housed the radio equipment.
Tandy Corporation is established and begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
1960 1921
Radio Shack introduces the first massmarketed, fully assembled personal computer, the TRS-80, with an operating system built by Bill Gates.
1977
RadioShack Timeline
1980
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2010 2000
As a joke, RadioShack employee asks customer buying game–TV switchbox for name and address. Practice lasts company– wide for another 22 years.
Executives hold press conference to address issue of what exactly is going on with that one aisle of just copper wire and cable splitters.
Tandy changes its name to RadioShack, drops private-label Realistic and Optimus brands
RadioShack management forced to euthanize millions of thumb drives they can no longer support. Fast-food veteran Len Roberts named CEO; develops cellular, Internet and satellite subscription services and branded in-store shops.
Roberts’ successor David Edmondson resigns for misstating college background. Replaced by longtime McDonald’s exec Claire Babrowski, who in turn is succeeded by Kmart veteran Julian Day, a turnaround specialist known for aggressive cost-cutting.
1999 2006
2015
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Visual Strategy Guide
LOGO TIMELINE
1950 The store now has a room to showcase audio equipment such as amplifiers and speakers. The company begins omitting the definite article from its logo. Cool, at the time.
1921 The retailer gets its start as a small shop in Boston that sells ham radios. A radio shack was the wooden structure on ships that held the radio equipment.
It’s the golden age of radio, and the company jazzes up its logo to reflect the times. The new logo screams the ‘80s as loud as shoulder pads and red leather jackets.
1940 1960
Logo Timeline
2011 1980 Alternative logo, which is used on some store signs. In this version the R is more metallic and seems to on top of a grey and red sphere.
This logo is solid red in a “funky” text style, with a space between the “Radio” and “Shack” part of the logo. Tandy Corporation used the same typeface for its logo.
RadioShack has recently started reusing the typeface from their 1995 logo.
The off–center R is here, with a cool, crisp logo. The ‘80s are over.
2013
1995
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TO PROVIDE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR INNOVATORS CAN INNOVATE IN ORDER TO CREATE THE INFINITE POSSIBILITY OF INTERACTION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND LIFE.
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Visual Strategy Guide
OUR MISSION
RadioShack lost the distinction of being a popular hangout for hobbyists and electronics enthusiasts, who were attracted by the parts, manuals and catalogs it carried. They were a successful company, but they made poor strategic choices, there was little focus, poor leadership, and they tried rampant diversification. But they still have a lot of brand equity; it is a recognizable brand. They would have to do something exciting to make themselves look good, to make them appealing to the younger generation. They have to remodel their stores and rebrand. So it’s time to take another step to rethink its initial soul and mission, to provide the technology for innovators can innovate in order to create the infinite possibility of interaction between science and life. Bring innovation to life.
Our Mission
[1] The Future RadioShack [2] The New Technology
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02 + THE PAST
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Visual Strategy Guide
PREVIOUS LOOK
These pictures show how this brand looks like in the past. Over the decades, the brand became one of the most famous in retail, dotting shopping centers across the country. Along the way came a parade of slogans, from “America’s Electronic Shopping Center” to “You’ve Got Questions. We’ve Got Answers.”
Brand Overview
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Visual Strategy Guide
PREVIOUS COMPETITOR
The current competitors are the companies do the exactly same thing that compete with RadioShack’s. Both of these competitors are providing the same products and services. We list ten brands below:
Bestbuy doing the exactly same thing that compete with RadioShack’s business.
Target is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States.
E-bay allows people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide.
Walmart is not a consumer electronic store, but they have varity of products to sell for customers.
Previous Competitor
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Amazon as an American electronic commerce, It is the largest Internet-based retailer in the world by total sales.
Office depot as an American office supply retailing company compete with RadioShack for sure.
AT&T is the second largest provider of mobile telephone services and the largest provider of fixed telephone services[8] in the United States
Costco is known for offering low-price, limitedselection,they also selling electronic stuffs.
Verizon Wireless offering telecommunications products and services.
Fry’s was founded as a Silicon Valley retail electronics store to provide a one-stopshopping environment for the Hi-Tech Professional.
03 + THE FUTURE
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Visual Strategy Guide
OUR NEW LOOK
According to the new mission of RadioShack to motivate people to be innovator, the new look will be more advanced, energetic and scientific. The images present the new tech feeling for the new brand.
Brand Overview
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Visual Strategy Guide
Tony Richards Smart Engineer 29
As an engineer I’m constantly spotting problems and plotting how to solve them.
• He develops their mechanical skills at an early age, it helps him to visualize basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes. • He was an engineer with a good head for mathematics, because his father taught math and his mother was a musician. • As an engineer, he is a good listener and effective problem-solver. • Participate in a minimal set of outside interests and hobbies due to that aren’t directly related to his business. • He has a start up company and currently work with his best friend. Because they have similar interests. • He wish can go to the world’s biggest technology trade show. • He really want have a girl friend as soon as possible. Because he do not have enough time to get to know anyone well enough, and He think there will be plenty of time to think about having a girlfriend in the years to come.
Our Audience
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Visual Strategy Guide
Michael Chu
Web design student 21
I strive for two things in web design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.
• He likes to play computer games quite a bit from he was little. • When he was a little boy, he really like to play in the warehouse, because of his father put a lot of old electronic devices there. • He want to read books on digital devices and would read for fun more frequently if he could obtain e-books. • After graduated, he also want to be a skillful programmer as his career choice not only web designer. • He loves to play sports, join the school orchestra, plus a variety of school clubs. • He was always very creative in all sorts of ideas. • He really like marvel comics.
Our Audience
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Visual Strategy Guide
Stella Ruiz
Game hobbyist 21
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.
• She graduated from game design major, because she is a game hobbyist. • She is a cosplayers, the fans she dress up in costumes inspired by her favorite video game characters, spend long hours creating her intricately detailed outfits. •. During her many years as a dedicated nerd she has played countless different games of all genres from just about every major gaming company there is. • She just been a hobbyist for most of her life, working on video games or pen-and-paper RPGs in her spare time. • She met countless game developers, buyers for every major retail outlet, press and lots of gaming enthusiasts. • Since she loves video game, she also interest in digital and technology stuff. • She has a keen awareness of the newest developments and styles, is self-assured and She really good at painting skills and vision and always try something new.
Our Audience
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Visual Strategy Guide
Ricky Lawson Geek Dad 36
I am a geek dad, believe me. I love technology and I want to feel like I'm living in the future, and these devices help me feel that way. • He has been in software development for a long time, some of his friends say that he is a tech geek. • Because he’s employed as a Geek Squad Manager, Ricky’s also a little more aware of technical details than the average user and more attuned to performance. • He see nothing magic about technology, only problems to be broken down and solved. • As a geek, Ricky often have a powerful intellectual vanity. That makes it hard for him to admit mistakes. • He is smart, iPhone-wielding professional, tech-savvy enough to understand the power of the internet and to use it to his advantage. • His hobby was fishing, but he did not often get a chance to practice it. • He has more online friends than he do in real life.
Our Audience
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Visual Strategy Guide
Neil Austin Electronic seller 28 During my pre-college years I went on many trips with my father into the oil fields to visit their operations.… I puttered around the machine, electronics, and automobile shops while he carried on his business. •Having picked up a keen interest in electronics from his father, He used to fix radios and later television sets for fun and spending money • He has a electronic store, he welcomes electronics buyers, repair shops and amateur to join and search for their requirements for parts. • When he was a child, a neighbor down the street introduced him to the wonders of electronic, giving him Heath kits (hobbyist electronics kits), which taught him about the inner workings of products. • He built his own hi-fi set and enjoyed helping friends with their amateur radio transmitters, but lost interest as soon as they worked. • He likes to go to art exhibition center and concert, like to understand different cultures via traveling. • He has got a pet dog and he often plays with it. • Both of his parents are inveterate do-it-yourselfers, almost no task being beneath their dignity or beyond their ingenuity.
Our Audience
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Visual Strategy Guide
Kristen Lloyd
Single Mom 38
I pretend that being a single mom isn't as hard as people say, but it's the hardest and loneliest struggle I've ever been through. • Kristen is a single mom and she is the breadwinner and she has to work and she has to do these things and that’s just the way it is. she don’t think her daughter even knows any different. • Being a single mother is one of the most challenging tasks that a woman can have. • She always keep her children as her primary concern. Setting aside time to spend with her children is crucial to establishing a bond with them. • She has a growing children, he always need to buy new clothes. • As a Single mother are extremely busy, and maintaining an organized schedule is crucial. She Keep a family calendar on her refrigerator so that she can stay organized as a family, and then make her own personal calendar as well. • She loves organize everything and decorate home. • She always positive, calm, and confident and challenge herself to get out of her comfort zones, and surround herself with smarter people.
Our Audience
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Visual Strategy Guide
FUTURE COMPETITOR
In the future state, These competitors are the companies RadioShack envision how it will be like after its re-branding. We list ten brands below:
Microsoft Corporation is an American
Abt, a store for consumer electronics
multinational technology company
and appliances. Shop refrigerators, tv stands, dishwashers, speakers and more with available free shipping.
TED is a global set of conferences run by the private nonprofit organization Sapling Foundation.
YouTube is an American video-sharing website.
Brand Overview
Oracle Corporation is an American multi-
Salesforce.com is an American cloud
national computer technology corporation,
computing company headquartered in San
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Francisco, California.
Amazon as an American electronic commerce,
It’s a global learning community to create,
It is the largest Internet-based retailer in the
connect, and collaborate with students around
world by total sales.
the globe.
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an
Crutchfield Corporation is a national retailer
American multinational computer soft-
specializing in a wide range of electronics,
ware company.
including mobile audio and video equipment for the automobile, along with speakers, televisions, and other electronics for home or portable use.
SOURCES
[1] Chapter 1 Tandy RadioShack TRS-80 Computer https://upload.wikimedia.org / Page 6 [2] RadioShack Store, 1972 http://www.aadl.org / Page 8 [3] RadioShack Model 2 Micro Computer http://static1.squarespace.com / Page 9 [4] Electronic Component Assembly http://www.cncrouterparts.com / Page 9 [5] RadioShack Store, 1970 http://core0.staticworld.net / Page 11 [6] RadioShack Model 2 Micro Computer http://assets.bwbx.io / Page 11 [7] Charles D. Tandy http://blog.leathercraftlibrary.com / Page 11 [8] RadioShack Store, 2014 http://stmedia.startribune.com / Page 12 [9] DIY 3D Printer http://3.bp.blogspot.com / Page 12 [10] The Future RadioShack http://images.adsttc.com / Page 18 [11] The New Technology http://nanol.eu / Page 19
Copyright ©2016 Linyi Guo All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Design & Concept / Linyi Guo Copy & Editing / Linyi Guo Typefaces: DINPro / Akzidenz Grotesk Title / RadioShack The Visual Strategy Guide This book was created as part of a project for Academy of Art University 79 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA School of Graphic Design Nature of Identity / Fall 2016 Instructor / Hunter Wimmer