Blog Post 9: Husqvarna

I was recently informed that I company I associate with chainsaws sells much more than just orange chainsaws.

Husqvarna, a company started in 1689 producing muskets for the Swedish Army, has since became a company known for producing many products.  Most commonly, Husqvarna produces and sells chainsaws, trimming equipment, ground care equipment and lawn mowers. The Husqvarna website shows only those main products despite being a producer of much more than that.

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/

Some of their products that surprised me are:

Sewing Machines:

Since the late 1800s, Husqvarna has been producing sewing machines of all levels. After looking up the history of the products, I found that the reason for making sewing machines was because the demand for firearms was decreasing. The sewing machines, produced in Sweden, can be bought around the world.

http://new.husqvarnaviking.com/en-US

Bicycles:

Husqvarna produced its last bicycle in 1962 after approximately 66 years of production. Although this makes the bikes harder to find today, they were very popular in their time.

Motorcycles:

A newer addition to Husqvarna’s product mix is Motorcycles. After first producing bicycles, in 1903 Husqvarna released their first motorcycle. Husqvarna motorcycles have been designed and used for motocross since the beginning. In 2014, the motorcycles featured blue, yellow, and white, a Swedish color scheme.

http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com

Rifles:

Although after reading up on Husqvarna’s history and realizing that firearms are what started the company altogether, I was still surprised to find out that they produced and sold rifles.   First, the company strictly produced weapons for the military but eventually they produced firearms for civilians as well. The company produced many different types of rifles that are still sold and used today.

Since 1689, 325 years ago, when Husqvarna was founded to produce rifles for the military, the company has had one of the most interesting series of events unfold and produced more products than I could have ever imagined. From the most well known orange chainsaws and lawn equipment to the Swedish colored dirt bikes, this company has practically done it all. In addition to the numerous products I have already discussed, Husqvarna once made kitchen equipment too. Their 325 year journey is fascinating.

Blog Post 8: All About Rebranding Projects

All About Rebranding Projects

Recently discussed in my Marketing class, the process of rebranding a company really caught my attention. There are many reasons why companies might decide to rebrand including reputation, relevance since the world is always changing, and to stand out from competitors

AT&T:

Back in 2010, AT&T set out to rebrand their company. Their reasoning was to attract more to people taking on the digital age lifestyle. Their rebranding project resulted in a new slogan, “Rethink Possible” and a new logo. Through the new slogan, the company feels like it is expressing its values as well as communicating to consumers.  Although the company is still using the logo from 2010, the slogan has been changed recently to “Mobilizing Your World”. The change happened again for the same reason, remaining relevant in today’s world.  

Applebee’s:

I don’t know about anyone else but I feel as though every time I go back to Applebee’s something has changed. Back in 2007, the company had a nearly complete makeover, which included a new logo, newly designed restaurants and new uniforms. The company has used a handful of slogans that I can remember. First, “Eatin’ good in the neighborhood”, then “Together is good”, followed by “There’s no place like the neighborhood”, and most recently, “See you tomorrow”.  Applebee’s is in a competitive market with other casual dining restaurants and staying new and unique has helped them to succeed.

UPS:

A less recent but still incredibly successful and relevant rebranding project is that of UPS. Back in the 90’s, and still today, UPS competed with FedEx as well as the Postal Service. By introducing their slogan, “What can brown do for you?” and recreating their logo to be more eye catching and modern, UPS saw great gains in their profit margins.

Price Chopper:

Less than a month ago, Price Chopper announced that they would be changing their name to Market 32. Although it will take more than 5 years to renovate all of the stores, the company has already begun a handful of renovations. The company’s goal for this project are to have a name that better reflects their strengths, and the improvements that they plan to continue to make.

Blog Post 7: Power of a Famous Face

A marketing technique that we are all aware of is Celebrity Endorsement. Some of the companies most well known for this include Nike and Gatorade but it’s an incredibly popular technique used by tons of companies in different markets.

Why do companies pay celebrities to endorse their products?

Celebrities help to make ads memorable. When viewers can place a name with an ad, they're more likely to remember the ad.

Along with being memorable, the famous faces can help the ads to stand out.

By using a celebrity, companies can make their products look prestigious. If it’s good enough for a celebrity, it must be good.

By adding a celebrity to an ad, a company might be able to reach a new audience. For example, a sports fan may see an athlete on an advertisement and become more interested in the product he or she is endorsing.

Some celebrity endorsement examples:

Derek Jeter has endorsed many products over the years. He is an incredibly well-known athlete who many people look up to and respect. 

Gillette, Gatorade, David

Michael Jordan has been a celebrity endorsement used by Nike for many years. As most of us are aware, his brand Air Jordan, is part of Nike. Jordan has also appeared in many other companies ads including Wheaties and Coca Cola. 

Other Examples:

Jennifer Aniston, Smart Water

Brad Pitt, Chanel 

Jessica Biel, Revlon

Blog Post 6: Throwback Products

FADS: Fads are products that tend to not be incredibly useful but are very popular only for a short period of time, meaning sales generally rapidly increase and rapidly fall. Although sales drop drastically, that doesn’t mean the product is entirely removed from the market.

Some fads that come to my mind include Furbies and more recently, Silly Bands. Through some research and thought I have found several products to share that will hopefully bring back some memories for any readers.

Although the lifetime of these products varied, it is easy to spot the similarity- each products lifetime was ended abruptly by a sudden fall in sales. Like I said before, fad products don't usually have very important uses and generally don't fulfill the serious needs of consumers. Nevertheless, they oftentimes bring joy to consumers for a short period of time.