The Nitty Gritty: Coup d’etat

From: Dana

To: NJC Team

Re: What to call this?

Date: December 17, 2009 12:32:03 PM EST

I love this! However, in thinking about the use of the word ‘coup’ - does it have the right connotation? It’s almost like Nightjar is doing a Friendly Takeover of the brand, as opposed to (what’s typically thought of as) a Hostile Coup.

Of course, in owning the concept, Nightjar can define it however it wants. If the idea is that the major brand gets on board (and eventually pays for) this kind of promotion, then the concept — even the naming of the phenomena behind the concept — should be as brand-friendly as possible.

As for ideas for brands to test this out on, I’m trying to think of some unusual, dying brands, but not ones that are subject to a potentially kitschy, trendy revival. A few brands that could use a makeover:

Car: Ford, Oldmobile (or any GM brand, really)
Hotel: Marriott
Coffee: Maxwell House
Fast Food: Pizza Hut
Clothing: Brooks Brothers. Why is Lacoste cool but Brooks Brothers dorky?
Shoes: Keds? Not sure about this one. The brand has tried various cool techniques… e.g. bringing on fashion forward designers for limited edition shoes. There’s probably a better brand than this one. Doc Martens?

Also, interesting yet dated NYT article (food for thought):
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/magazine/18rebranding-t.html?_r=1&ei=5070&en=a04f977d9dc71b4b&ex=1211774400&pagewanted=all

Dana