Brand Faux Pas

All brands face challenges in their efforts towards brand sustainability. Two West decided to examine past mistakes companies and brands have made in their goal of brand sustainability, and what exactly encompasses a “brand faux pas.” We discussed that faux pas are all about the decisions a brand makes. How would you define a brand faux pas?

Listen to the show while we discuss certain automobile, airline and beverage industry faux pas. We specifically discuss the airline industry’s current a la carte pricing and cost-cutting measures that infuriates customers. Take a look at a recent Southwest Airlines commercial that depicts that very situation, where a man is forced to insert a gold coin for every little thing he needs to do on the plane (recline his seat, lower his try table, etc.). Click on the commercial labeled “Coins.”

Also be sure to catch our guest, Wes Brown, Vice President of Iceology, a consumer research and consulting firm based in L.A. that explores the customer relationship and interaction with markets, brands and products. Brown comments on how consumers relate to different brands, and what companies can do to try and prevent mistakes with their brands. Do you think certain industries are more prone to brand faux pas?

As always, there were many discussion topics we didn’t get to on the show this week. We had hoped to discuss the challenges Euro Disney faced, and how Disney made the mistake of translating its American brand policies and theme park model to Europe, not mindful of certain cultural differences. Check out these pictures of Disneylands around the world – Japan, France and the United States. The same model was used in all three countries.

Euro Disney:



Disney Japan:



Disney World in the United States: