WTF: Why Would Tropicana Want to Look Like A Store Brand?
By Roberta Rosenberg on Dec 27, 2008 in WTF
So, hubby and I are moving through the aisles at our local grocery store picking up assorted odds and ends post-Christmas when we get to the juice section. My kids are fond of a Tropicana orange/mango juice mix thingie. But as I’m reaching for their favorite I stopped.
Where did the Tropicana go? I didn’t see the familiar “straw through the orange” large visual format. I didn’t ’see’ Tropicana.
However, when I slowed down to read the packaging I found Tropicana in its new packaging. Packaging, to my eye, that makes this premium brand look like a house brand, but as premium pricing.
Hmm.
I’ve talked before how consumers will see a product before they read it. Big visuals with the expected colors help consumers find their favorite brands. Tropicana’s now classic orange with the straw look – originally derived from a super-smart TV campaign a zillion years ago – made it easy for me to find it on the shelves without having to stop, scan and read labels.
I found myself confused and annoyed. Think other consumers will, too?
I buy some house brands and look for the store logo to help me find them. I buy house brands for value. I buy premium brands and willingly pay more for them, because I don’t view them as pure commodities, like sugar and flour. I’ll pay more for better taste, fresher ingredients, even smarter, more convenient packaging.
But this? No, I don’t get it. Granted, I’m not a brand marketing strategist, but as a direct marketing maven, I do know that you don’t want to stop your prospect’s momentum toward a sale. You don’t want your prospects confused. You don’t want them thinking too hard about whether or not to proceed to sale.
You can read Tropicana’s own explanation here.
What do you think? Are you convinced this was a good marketing move or something more akin to the New Coke fiasco?
Douglas Karr | Dec 27, 2008 | Reply
I’ve not read the explanation yet, but my thoughts are that they’re probably getting their butt kicked by the clear plastic orange juice bottles that have cropped up in the juice aisle. Consumers like to look at what they’re buying. Although this doesn’t allow you to look inside – it does provide a clean view that will capture folks’ attention.
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Roberta Rosenberg | Dec 27, 2008 | Reply
@Doug – if they had moved to a clear bottle, I’m with you. Clear bottles, however, have a premium brand feel. In fact, Tropicana uses it for the orange/mango juice I mentioned. But when I did a head to head compare of the store brand and the new Tropicana packaging, I was hard-pressed to tell the difference at first glance.
Lisa Shara | Dec 29, 2008 | Reply
Agree with you on this one Roberta. What was unique to the brand on the shelf is no more. I didn’t see an explanation for the change on their website, just reasurrances that nothing had changed within the new packaging. They’ve got a great vid. ad online featuring kids– and to me gave all the more reason the old pic (orange with straw) represented the company well. That pic spoke volumes. It’s like they did away with a unique visual trademark.
I’m thinking they are going to lose more than the image. People like unique. They took the fun out of shopping for the product. Ho-hum, it’s all the same– so could be consumers will treat the product as such. And certainly youngsters won’t be able to identify “their” brand now.
~Lisa
Jennifer Barthe | Dec 29, 2008 | Reply
Like Tropicana, Pepsi just redesigned their logo and packaging. I suppose they think people will buy more Pepsi because the new logo looks good. Hello, I buy Pepsi because I like the taste and the brand WAS easy to recognize. Now I just scan the shelves for Diet Coke because it’s easier to differentiate from everything else. The new logos turn me off.
Roberta Rosenberg | Dec 29, 2008 | Reply
@Lisa – if Tropicana wants to align themselves as a value brand, that’s fine as long as they stay competitive with the store brand pricing. Premium pricing, tho, should sport premium branding.
@Jennifer – I noticed the Pepsi redesign, as well. Made me immediately think of the Obama campaign. On purpose? You make the call
Samir Balwani | Dec 29, 2008 | Reply
The new branding for Tropicana is horrible. They don’t stand out, and they end up looking like a low end juice. Now it’ll get lost in the mix, or just look like over-priced store juice.
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Kari Rippetoe | Dec 29, 2008 | Reply
I definitely agree with you, Roberta. I went grocery shopping recently and noticed this new “brand” and immediately thought it was a store brand – until I took a closer look and realized it was Tropicana. I’m not going to try and predict how loyal customers will react and if sales will increase or decrease; but IMO they’ve taken all that’s outwardly recognizable about their brand and erased it.
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Graham Strong | Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Hi Roberta,
I think this is a good case of a marketing agency that is overthinking and/or too close to the product. Perhaps they are even trapped into making a change just so that it looks like they are doing something. New agency, gotta make new changes, even if what worked before is still working…
The “Classic” example: the change to New Coke and then back to Classic. Even the people who worked on that campaign shake their heads at it.
It might also just be a test. I haven’t seen the new packaging myself (though granted Canada is a different market…) so perhaps they are testing different packages to reinforce the fact that they have it right in the first place.
Either way, it shows how new isn’t always better.
Thanks for sharing Roberta!
~Graham
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Roberta Rosenberg | Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
@Graham – judging from the links I’m seeing about this packaging change, it appears this isn’t a test, but a done deal. I think it still comes back to the premium vs generic equation. If OJ is a commodity, I’ll go for value and reach for the store brand – or maybe I’ll just be confused and get the T instead.
Maybe that’s it. Confuse me into buying the wrong brand. I’d be hard-pressed by the packaging to know the difference.
Side note: I saw that there were a few “tropicana” searches done on Twitter lately. Wonder what the branding twits are discovering.
Tia Dobi | Jan 1, 2009 | Reply
I clicked thru to the “Explanation” only there wasn’t any with the exception of this tiny tidbit that I found after clicking on all the “Find Out More Links” associated with their new packaging (from the landing page link provided):
Tropicana Pure Premium Lots of Pulp (Grovestand) Orange Juice is now Tropicana Pure Premium High Pulp Orange Juice. The brown color on the previous carton that indicated the Lots of Pulp flavor has been changed to hot pink to help it stand out even more at shelf. While the name changed, what’s inside hasn’t. High Pulp is the same Lots of Pulp (Grovestand) Orange Juice you have always enjoyed.
One idea is to have CWM interview one of their reps and get the reason straight from the horse’s mouth!
Happy New Year. Happy New You.
Bev Guy | Jan 8, 2009 | Reply
WTF — They had to run this packaging through focus groups. So I bet they only showed a bunch of new designs to the groups and this design tested the best – Hence this is the best of the worst! Another example of idiot brand managers talking to themselves. I bet Trop sales tank on this dumb move! The competitors have got to be laughing.
Jace | Jan 25, 2009 | Reply
I agree completely, this is fool-hardy. And the explanation is no explanation at all. They neglect to mention there that the color was the whole top of the box, now it’s a small stripe. Instead of just complaining here, I sent them a message as follows:
This new look is a jarring disappointment with my favorite brand. The carton is drab and unappealing. The distinction from one type of your orange juice to another is substantially more subtle, making it harder for me to quickly sop for my groceries. With this new change, I am now vastly more likely to just get a store brand Orange Juice. After all, you now look just like them.
It’s been nice knowing you. Hopefully, you’ll realize the guy that came up with this change is an idiot, send him back to the mail room, and return us to the fresh from teh grove packaging.
Jace | Jan 26, 2009 | Reply
And what do you know, Tropicana actually responded! Reply as follows:
Jace:
We’re sorry you are disappointed in our label design change. We certainly never intended for there to be any confusion for you while shopping for your groceries, and we have shared your concerns with our packaging and marketing team. In addition, we’ve mailed two complimentary coupons which you should receive in about a week.
Our intention for changing our design was to depict a glass of our juice on the front versus the fruit. We wanted to call attention to the pure and natural goodness of our juice and the spirit of drinking it in the morning for a healthy start to your day. Although we realize how you feel about our change, we’ve still got your favorite Tropicana juice as the way we make our juices has not changed.
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to respond, Jace, and for being a valued Tropicana consumer. We hope for your continued support.
Yvette
Tropicana Consumer Relations
Ref# 026736557A
Say It So They Buy It | Jun 8, 2009 | Reply
We wrote very similar articles. Amazing how big companies can get tired of their brand and want to change it for idiotic reason. Here’s my blog post on the same Tropicana OJ (I drink it, so it really caught my eye): Advertising Mistakes – Tropicana Retreats To Old Branding – http://bit.ly/byoDB
Best,
Charles Seymour Jr
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