There's No Success Like "Failure"
By Laurence Remila, Strategies Europe, December 2000

Learning from your mistakes is good, but learning from the mistakes of others is even better. That's the precept drawing increasing numbers of visitors to Failuremag.com, the online magazine launched by New York-based Jason Zasky and his six-person team. The site is dedicated to analysing failure, be it in the fields of sports, packaging, entertainment or business. "Having a provocative name and a unique product has helped us attract attention," says Zasky. "The premise for this site is that failure is a subject covered by every media outlet, but so far all the information has not yet been put in one place. What we're doing is unique. The key to making it work is that we adopt an approach where we don't criticise or judge, but simply let the story tell itself as objectively as possible. If companies we feature haven't complained, it's because we simply look at the reasons behind the failure of one of their products."

Failure's founders have noticed that a number of marketing people are becoming regular visitors. "Though it was not the aim of the site to create an educational tool, it's obvious that it can be used to learn from the experiences of others. If you're not learning lessons from the past, your company is in trouble."

According to Zasky, the main factor behind product failures is simply the high number of products appearing on the market. "It is increasingly difficult for a product to distinguish itself, and any mistake can be fatal," he explains. "For example, the product failure rate in the grocery business is 88%. Simply putting a product in the wrong box or in the wrong place in the supermarket can destroy it, as Kellogg's discovered when they tried selling their corn-flakes with the milk poured on in the chilled section."

Companies often exacerbate product failures by ineffectual response. Zasky advises: "Firstly, a company should correct the mistake as quickly as possible. And marketers should never assume that simply because a product works in one territory, it can be exported to another directly."

Ten Marketing Disasters
Diagnosed by Kathleen Ervin, Failure's director of marketing

1. New Coke. "This is the standard for marketing failures. Coca-Cola, in an attempt to revitalise its brand, almost destroyed it [by launching a new formula]. But the story had a happy ending because by introducing New Coke, the company ended up revitalising its original product. It just demonstrates that failure is rarely a black-and-white issue and the final result often takes a long time to mainfest itself."

2. Levi's. There is such a thing as brand superiority. Levi's thought its brand was unshakeable. Years of neglect and lack of marketing focus slowly eroded the brand's vitality."

3. Burger King. "When is a hamburger not a hamburger? When it's a cultural way of life. BK made the big mistake of going head to head with McDonald's in advertising. Instead of focusing on what was different about BK, they compared what was the same about BK and McDonald's."

4. Snapple. "In the 1990s, Snapple led the way in the US non-carbonated soft drinks sector, with its quirky ads and customer-centred marketing campaigns. However, it could not make the transition from a new brand to a standard, and after millions of misspent marketing dollars, finally gave up trying."

5. Fruit of the Loom. "Another fine example of a clothing brand resting on its laurels. Instead of reaching out to new customers, it depended on the old, to its cost."

6. The Edsel. "Because of its total lack of marketing, the Edsel was unable to leverage itself against all the bad publicity it received. The car eventually went out of production in the early 1960s."

7. Pets.com. "Not in recent memory has a commercial done so much to establish a new brand, and an internet brand at that. However, the spokes-puppet in the ad soon eclipsed the brand and pets.com was left with a hefty ad bill and little name-recall."

8. George Bush re-election campaign. "How did a relatively unknown governor from Arkansas trounce the incumbent, George Bush? The answer is simple: poor marketing. While many ask whether Bush was unwilling or unable to get on the marketing bandwagon, the outcome was evident.

9. Taco Bell. "Although Taco Bell's ad campaign featuring a chihuahua was highly successful in the eyes of the consumer, it apparently did not sell enough tacos for Taco Bell and the dog soon got the axe. This was an example of a great ad that didn't drive people into stores."

10. Polaroid. "Great product, great brand, but all attempts to update it have failed."

This article appeared in Strategies Europe, December 2000.