Do Shifting Brands have to live in Marketing Purgatory During Transition?

My husband never went to marketing school.  In fact you could say he knows nothing about marketing.  But perhaps it is his innocence on the matter – combined with what he learns from my frequent musings that sometimes makes him the best marketing mind I know. 

Today over eggs we were discussing the rise and fall of Anne McDonald, the initially highly touted CMO who joined Macy’s to redirect the brand a couple of years ago who was removed just 15 months later, after her new marketing strategy proved to reduce sales instead of boost them.  If you are not familiar with her position, she was tasked with building global Macy’s brand and eliminating the localized brands of Marshall Fields and Foley’s.  This meant a move beyond the “sale” mentality to a new space up-market. I commented to my husband on how quickly after her arrival I had noticed the shift in television and print advertising away from “sale, sale, sale” to the image building campaigns… and how I noticed this holiday season Macy’s is definitely back to its discount tactics, or as my husband then blurted, “the red apple sale is back!”

I was indeed shocked that my husband had not only even HEARD of the Red Apple sale to begin with, let alone connect Macy’s to Foleys and also to a campaign that ended almost two years ago. 

I sat in silent disbelief for a minute, and while I was recovering, he added this gem.  “I guess you have to anticipate that your brand is going to live in Purgatory for a while if you plan to change it.”   

I retorted – “Purgatory – what the heck are you talking about?”

And then it hit me.  He was talking about that space between where your brand is today – and where you want to take it.  He was talking about that in-between time after you’ve dumped your (possibly waning) loyal target markets that have stood by you through thick and thin…  in search of a new, more profitable customer base that you are betting your ass actually exists.  He is talking about that leap of faith every gutsy marketer must take when faced with an outdated, overly mature, or poorly positioned brand – to shift the position to a new place. 

Al Ries calls it Positioning – choosing that singular spot in the customer’s mind you seek to fill.  Geoffrey Moore calls it the Chasm you must cross from marketing to one type of customer to another with completely different needs and priorities.  Renee Mauborgne calls it finding that uncontested market space that is your Blue Ocean Strategy.

But no matter what you call it, one thing is certain….  it is scary.  And what Anne McDonald’s short stint at Macy’s shows, is that even the most knowledgeable, intelligent brand minds with the biggest research budgets and data to back them up are taking a big leap of faith when they do it. 

So the question begs, is there a Purgatory where all brands sit for some time during that transition phase and if so, how long should it last?  Maybe the management at Macy’s was short-sighted.  Was 15 months that enough time to shed the old and bring in the new? 

Sure, one could argue, as I will from my armchair that Macy’s is better off positioning itself in the mid-market – somewhere between Kohl’s and Neiman Marcus and that it truly had a blue ocean there.  But then again, who am I to judge without throngs of consumer research to back me up, a staff of 30 + direct reports,  a multi-million dollar marketing budget and a Harvard MBA?   Or better yet, who is my husband to have such profound insight considering he’s never even shopped at Macy’s?

Marketing Purgatory…  I like  it.  Maybe THAT will be the name of my first book.