Methodology

The study considered companies that have re-branded within the past decade. The purpose was to ensure that re-branding is recent and thus it was fresh in the customers mind and hence it could be easier for them to make assessment. In this research, review of the companies was limited to two case studies: the GAP Inc and Tommy Hilfiger Brand and collection of data was limited to the customers in order to ensure that the research remained within its scope. As such, the research considered only the customers who had transacted with the two companies. According to Ballouli, Grady and Stewart (2016), this technique is essentially important in improving reliability of the information collected and also for ensuring that a true reflection of the companies was portrayed (p.214). However, there are various reason as to why GAP Inc and Tommy Hilfiger Brand were considered for the case studies. First, GAP is a popular company which sells its products on retail basis and also on online marketing.  Bolhuis, de Jong and van den Bosch (2018) noted that it has therefore created a huge market niche and thus owing to the large pool of customers, a lot was to be studied as far as reactions of these customers were concerned (p.12). Secondly, the research required to make a comparison between a company that failed in re-branding for this case, GAP and another that succeeded in re-branding and for this case, Tommy Hilfiger Brand. In addition to this, Tommy Hilfiger Brand is a leading designer high life brad and it has been in the industry for the past 3 decades. Since there have been many scholarly articles that have been published with regard to re-branding, this research took advantage of the information available. As such, the research was dependent on the data available from other academic materials such as journals.

The research assessed the methods based on the following aspects:-

• Effectiveness in capturing the topic that is re-branding as the process:-Comparative studies were made by choosing the text that provided the most evidence-based information.
• Availability of reliable information-Here the research reported on the inter-observer studies.
• Suitability for repeated studies or for future reference
• Costs regarding human resources and time and burden of analysis
• Effectiveness in capturing the feelings of the consumers
• Effectiveness in influencing the operations of the companies together with factors such as profits, consumer relations with the company among others.

The research considered the qualitative analysis though it did not perform the aggregated analysis or even the meta-analysis. In order to get the best article, and as asserts Sancho (2016) the research produced a summary on key strengths and limitations of each as this approach focused on the richness of the information environment (p.482). Based on the availability of relevant data concerning re-branding of GAP Inc and Tommy Hilfiger, the research rated the criteria from + to ++++.

First, the technique helped in viewing of homogeneous exploration. The research considered information available on the two companies, GAP Inc and Tommy Hilfiger and thus it was easier to extract important information on the two and relevant data for this research. As such, it was easier to focus on the particular issue that is impacts on re-branding on customer without going off the scope of study. Secondly, the technique helped in raising more issues through broad and open-ended inquiry. Collecting data especially on the feelings on the consumers after a certain change in the company may be expensive since there are various issues that may be raised (Yeboah and Addaney, 2016 p.152). By considering information from other scholars, it became easier to understand certain issues such as the situation of the company before re-branding and also the situation after re-branding. Third, journals are peer-reviewed and this means that any information contained in them is reliable. This improved on the reliability of the data collected and hence it gained confidence on trust and findings of the research (Miller,Merrilees and Yakimova,2014 p.270). As such,it was possible to carry out cultural assessment being the ability to critically analyze underling values, assumptions and beliefs. It was therefore possible to have a full picture of the organization and its customers which is essential in understanding their consumption behavior.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Approach

Nevertheless, there were some limitations of this data collection technique. First, some issues can be overlooked as different authors have different interpretations. For instance, the authors may interpret perceptions and views of the consumers differently (Collange, 2015 p.190). They may prematurely attribute changes in consumer behavior to re-branding and this may affect the conclusion of the research. Second, selection of the articles possess challenges since full text reading was required which was time consuming. Secondly, validity of the information was still a matter of concern. This technique is different from other methods of data collection as such as interviewing, observation which provides first-hand information. According to Curtis et al. (2017), comparisons sometimes may bring out different aspects of consumers and due to this, the research focused more on the effectiveness of the article other than the validity of the data (p.105). Third, the data collection method could not be used for large scale research since it lacked human direct human perceptions.

However there are approaches that were not used in this research such as interviewing yet it would have brought some strengths in the research and Makarychev and Yatsyk (2015) note some of them including first-hand information, creation of room for clarification and it would also enhanced recording of accurate information (p.150). Nevertheless, this method would have come along with limitation such as costs constraints, time consuming and geographical barriers as the researcher had to travel to different places where customers were.

It is always important to ensure that highest ethical standards must be observed when collecting data. There were however, various ethical issues that emerged during the collection of information in this research. Although, the research acknowledged some of the findings of the authors, it was without their consent that this research used their data. However, during the preparatory phase, the necessary authorities were consulted and this helped in validating the process and giving it a green light.  As Tsai,Dev and Chintagunta(2015) noted confidentiality is an important aspect to consider in any research and in this case, it was assumed that the previous researchers had taken this issue into consideration (p.868).

Through evaluation of the failures of re-branding and success of the same, the following are the aspects that need to be considered. First, when re-branding consumers should be the first thing to consider. Re-branding in GAP failed because the brand did not appeal to the loyal customers. With regard to this, it would be important to hold interviews with customers and other stakeholders. This implies that re-branding should not just emerge from the minds of the management and it should be include other stakeholders (Herstein, Berger and Jaffe, 2014 p.400). Secondly, re-branding in GAP Inc was held abruptly and this created discontent from the customers. It is therefore important to note that re-branding process should not be done in a hurry. As such, market research will help in identifying competitors and what they offer in the market. Moro and Rita (2018) note that market research will provide a good framework on how a company should stand out from the rest (p.350). This will also help in determining the response from the various aspects; gender, age, income, interests among others. Lastly, setting objectives will ensure that the whole practice of re-branding is result-oriented. Zhao, Calantone and Voorhees(2018) asserts that such  process should therefore led to increased brand recall, increased market share as well as the increase in sales and hence increase in profit margin (15).

Ethical Issues

Re-branding is one of the ways of positioning and representation of the brand of a company as a means of coping with the ever changing market environment. However, the process should be undertaken with close considerations to ensure that re-branding achieves its success. The purpose of the essay is to have comparative study where two cases are compared; with one case of how the company was unable to achieve its objectives and how another company successfully incorporated re-branding in its operations. As a means of analyzing the two scenarios, the essay gives reasons as to why re-branding was a success on one company but it failed on the other. The essay is therefore relevant to corporates that may decide to rebrand themselves by discussing some of the important factors that should be taken into place. In addition to this, the essay shows how consumer behavior may be affected by re-branding on thus it gives a good framework on which companies may decide to carry out the process. Through comparative analysis, it will therefore be easy for the reader to understand some of the dynamics that are involved in the whole process.

References

Bolhuis, W., de Jong, M.D. and van den Bosch, A.L., 2018. Corporate re-branding: effects of corporate visual identity changes on employees and consumers. Journal of marketing communications, 24(1), pp.3-16.

Ballouli, K., Grady, J. and Stewart, R., 2016. The delicate art of re-branding a minor league baseball franchise: Practices, pitfalls, and payoffs of re-branding the Winston-Salem Warthogs. Sport Management Review, 19(2), pp.211-226.

Collange, V., 2015. Consumer reaction to service re-branding. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.178-186.

Curtis, N., Corapi, J., Roberts, R. and Devlin, J.W., 2017. re-branding of generic parenteral vasopressin: effect on clinician practices and perceptions. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 74(3), pp.105-106.

Herstein, R.A.M., Berger, R.O.N. and Jaffe, E., 2014. Five typical city branding mistakes: Why cities tend to fail in implementation of re-branding strategies. Journal of Brand Strategy, 2(4), pp.392-402.

Makarychev, A. and Yatsyk, A., 2015. Brands, cities and (post-) politics: A comparative analysis of urban strategies for the Universiade 2013 and the World Football Cup 2018 in Russia. European Urban and Regional Studies, 22(2), pp.143-160.

Moro, S. and Rita, P., 2018. Brand strategies in social media in hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), pp.343-364.

Miller, D., Merrilees, B. and Yakimova, R., 2014. Corporate re-branding: An integrative review of major enablers and barriers to the re-branding process. International Journal of Management Reviews, 16(3), pp.265-289.

Sancho, D., 2016. ‘Keeping up with the time’: re-branding education and class formation in globalising India. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 14(4), pp.477-491.

Tsai, Y.L., Dev, C.S. and Chintagunta, P., 2015. What’s in a brand name? Assessing the impact of re-branding in the hospitality industry. Journal of Marketing Research, 52(6), pp.865-878.

Yeboah, P.O. and Addaney, M., 2016. Corporate re-branding and performance of financial institutions in Ghana. Asian Economic and Social Society, 6(7), pp.150-166.

Zhao, Y., Calantone, R.J. and Voorhees, C.M., 2018. Identity change vs. strategy change: the effects of re-branding announcements on stock returns. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, pp.1-18.