Top 6 Biggest Branding Mistakes and Failures: The Products Whose (Marketing) Fails to Impress

There are probably plenty of worse jobs that companies have done but this is what I've come up with. This list only includes products that are still in existence and those that launched in recent history. That means New Coke and the McPizza don't count although they definitely would make the all-time list.

6. Mitsubishi Elevators

Trailing Otis, Kone and several other companies in the elevator industry, Mitsubishi itself has been a massive failure. Its televisions have almost no market share while barely anyone knows about a random food and textiles division. Simply put, Mitsubishi does not stand out with any distinctive color like Ferrari, sound like the Ford Taurus or smell like Mercedes. And that's just its cars. But has anyone ever seen and recognized and applauded a Mitsubishi Elevator? The entire corporation has simply developed a reputation of substandard quality and no uniqueness or innovation, led by a badly trailing automobile division.

5. Microsoft Zune

I have complimented this device on its quality and I still think that it's a good device but from the start, it was destined for failure. After a hyped launch, the "iPod-killer" sputtered throughout its duration on the market at prices nearly the same as the iPod. A confusing interface, lack of unique features and little online capability, the Zune just doesn't have the charm that iPods do. The Zune doesn't even have a variation of the cover flow or genius playlist generator while online features are incredibly poor. Basically, Microsoft, renowned for its no-nonsense Windows operating system, has no right to market share in the MP3 player market, which demands innovation.

4. Samsung Instinct

Don't mess with Apple. The Samsung Instinct never even had the hype that the Zune had and was and still is regarded as an iPhone spinoff. I've never personally tried this device but can tell that its appeal is not anything compared the notorious Apple iPhone. Samsung just came too late in the touch screen world and is facing not-so-great sales as a consequence.

3. Dunlop Sport

Although a good tire manufacturer, Dunlop Sport is a mistake. Athletes are considerably picky about their brands and I know I wouldn't buy tennis balls or golf drivers made by a tire company. Dunlop has never been a leading innovator in any of its sports departments, trailing Wilson and Head in tennis, is a leader in the relatively small squash market, is not even considered as a player in the badminton market, which is the same with golf.

2. Reebok Reebok

In an athletic wear market dominated by Nike and Adidas, Reebok comes in at a lowly third. In the shadow of these two foes, Reebok has a good hockey division and has an adequate share in fan merchandise in the NFL but every other sport puts this brand out of the equation. Little to no media marketing, massively overpriced items, lower quality and simply the shadow of the two giants has not helped the company.

1. GM Pontiac

Have you ever heard of CalorieLab.com? If you've been reading my blog, you have but if you haven't then you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Well, you've probably heard of Pontiac. So why has CalorieLab overtaken Pontiac in daily web reach (website visitors), according to web research company Alexa? Because nobody cares about the sinking division of a sinking GM anymore. GM doesn't even care about Pontiac, which is not included in its four-division focus. This is because what does Pontiac have that's unique? Nothing. It was lauded as the new car company like Saturn. It isn't true American like Chevrolet. It isn't luxury like Cadillac. And it isn't fuel efficient like Toyota.

Do you see the similarities of all these? They all don't have any unique features and they all live in the shadows of a big-name, big-brand player in their market. This is exactly what you shouldn't do. Just some advice.

A Good But Dying Breed of MP3 Player: The Microsoft Zune

When it was launched, the Microsoft Zune was often touted as an iPod killer and the real next-gen MP3 player but really, it has not lived up to these standards. As its sales numbers and popularity plummet, people's perspectives of Microsoft in the music market have made a turn for the worse. Don't be expecting Microsoft to be making anything close to an iPod killer any time soon.
However, I'm always making an effort to be as impartial as possible so I will explore whether these opinions are actually correct.
Of course, the first aspect that I notice in anything is the quality of the design. And I cannot rightfully say anything negative regarding this facet in the Microsoft Zune. It is definitely very sleek and comes in a number of appealing colors in addition to the unique art shown in the background of the main screen in the MP3 player.
Moreover, the features of the Microsoft Zune- the real content- are not as poor as they are said to be. In fact, every one of these devices supports music, videos, photos, FM radio and even games. And in comparison to other competitors including the iPod, the Zune without doubt is equal to or edges out all of them in each area. The sound quality and organization of music is really no different from that of any other MP3 player while the videos and photos are displayed on a considerably large screen with excellent resolution. Lastly, there should be absolutely no question in anybody's mind that this gadget's games are much better than those offered by Apple; texas hold 'em, space battle and sudoku are more entertaining than connect four and checkers. One thing that the Zune absolutely lacks in though is the aptness of the controlling scrollwheel. Of course, many MP3s don't even have this innovative feature but iPod's version is much easier to use than the Zune's. Another aspect is the Microsoft marketplace, which does not have nearly as much variety as Apple's iTunes and is a bit more complex than iTunes.
One really cool tool that Zune has is something called "Buy from FM" where the device will identify any song you hear while listening to the radio and will, when told to, download that song the next time you sync it with your computer. This supplements to Zune's ability to connect wirelessly to the marketplace so you can download that song that's been stuck in your head the whole day, on the go.
Lastly, let's look at the prices. There are five different Zunes with 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 80 GB and 120 GB. They are $99.99, $139.99, $179.99, $229.99 and $249.99 respectively. Most of these cost $10-$20 less than the corresponding iPod.
But is this merited; that's for you to decide. I believe quite firmly that the iPod is better than the Zune but the latter should be the instinctive alternative to the former.