Trashing Brands and Other Stuff
A Look Back: 2005-2007
January 2007 By Denny Hatch
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In the News
Boston’s Tale of Two RitzesChange in Owners Ends 80-Year Era Overnight; A Sibling With Flaws
By the time I arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Boston for one last Ritz Fizz, it wasn’t the Ritz anymore. In a changeover that erased three quarters of a century of tradition—including the famed blue Curacao-and-Champagne cocktail invented in the bar—the oldest Ritz-Carlton in the U.S. was rechristened last week as the Taj Boston by its new owners, Taj Hotels. That makes it part of the sprawling Mumbai, India-based Tata Group empire, which bought the 273-room hotel, but not the rights to its name, from Millennium Partners in November for $170 million.
—Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2007; Page W3
The motto of the Ritz-Carlton staff: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.”
A second Ritz-Carlton exists in Boston. But if you Google “The Ritz-Carlton Boston,” the following is what appears on the screen, under the famous, blue Ritz-Carlton logo—a lion head atop a kingly crown:
We’re sorry, but we are unable to locate the page you have requested.
Please confirm that the URL has been spelled correctly. If so, then the page you requested no
longer exists at our website.
The implication that I’m too stupid to spell “Ritz-Carlton” is an insult. People are directed to other Ritz-Carltons. But THE Ritz-Carlton is dead.
In yesterday’s New York Times, there was a full-page ad that featured a stylized, black panther wearing a diamond necklace and matching earring. The headline: “LUXURY BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS.”
The subhead: “Introducing the Taj Boston. January 11, 2007.” No mention that the new Taj is the old Ritz. No mention of the Ritz anywhere in the ad.
Is it smart to take a grand brand—with an 80-year record of excellence and a roster of rich and famous customers from all over the world—trash it, and start over?
You have to shake your head in wonderment.
The Power of Brand
Over the years, a series of large, old-line American corporations—with wonderfully evocative names—switched to initials and acronyms. For example:
—International Business Machines became IBM.
—American Machine and Foundry was turned into AMF.
—West Virginia Pulp and Paper is now Westvaco (actually MeadWestvaco).
—National Cash Register went to NCR.
It made sense. These companies got into other areas. Cash registers and business machines are out of another century and these companies have moved on.
For example, in the 1970s, my wife, Peggy, and I bought a little Sunfish sailboat made by AMF. Had the conglomerate kept its original name, I would’ve stopped and thought, “Why is a machine and foundry company making a fiberglass boat?”
Takeaway Points to Consider:
* When you buy a beloved brand and feel the need to change the name, think through whether you want to throw out the baby with the bath water (to coin a phrase). If the acquisition of Marshall Field’s by Macy’s was inevitable, then the Federated chain should show Chicago how proud it was to have the premier department store as part of its family. The new name: Macy’s Marshall Field’s.* I’ve stayed in a number of hotels in London. Among them: the Radisson Vanderbilt and the Trafalgar Hilton—both venerable hostelries that had been recently acquired by chains. In London, they’re known by one and all (including cab drivers) by their original names. The chain logo is nowhere in sight. Even though the Marriott owns and operates the Ritz-Carlton chain, it has the good sense not to muck up a great brand with Marriott logos everywhere.
* If you summarily make a change that upsets customers, they’ll vote with their feet—and their credit cards.
* “Listen to the murmur of your market. Create feedback loops in your database environment so that you can record what your customers and prospects are saying about your products, your service, your company and your competition. There is no more valuable source of information.”
—Don Jackson
* Before changing a known and respected business name, check out Jeff Wuorio’s, “Change Your Business Name? 7 Issues” at http://tinyurl.com/2rmmqd/ This will help you think through all aspects of the decision.
Web Sites Related to Today's Edition:
Taj Bostonhttp://tinyurl.com/28dvxq/
Ritz-Carlton Boston
http://ritzcarlton.com/hotels/boston/
“Change Your Business Name? 7 Issues” by Jeff Wuorio
http://tinyurl.com/2rmmqd/
Companies Mentioned:
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