Debranding: The great name-dropping gamble

Some say Nike was the first, but now the practice of eliminating the brand name from products or marketing activity is becoming a popular way for companies to differentiate themselves or extend their business.

Dropping a well-known company name from a product or marketing activity might seem counterintuitive, but some businesses are doing just that - employing a debranding strategy to make their companies appear less corporate and more forward-thinking.

Starbucks is experimenting with this strategy in an attempt to position itself as a friendly local coffee shop. Its 'Starbucks' moniker was removed from coffee cups in the UK last year, leaving only the siren symbol. And last month, its staff started asking customers their names, so they could write them on its takeaway cups, to make its service seem more personal and less corporate. 'We're Starbucks. Nice to meet you' is the line used in the TV advertising that explains this decision.

The US store JCPenney is another brand that has developed separate ranges that do not use its name, including The Original Jean Company and Xersion. After posting an operating loss of $171m (107m) in the third quarter of 2011, the business is restructuring and is using a debranding strategy to help push forward its private label brands.

JCPenney declined to comment, but a statement from the company says that newly appointed senior vice-president of strategic brands Bill Gentner will be "responsible for reinvigorating JCPenney's portfolio of high-performing private brands, including ensuring brand integrity in how they are merchandised, marketed and presented in the company's private brand in-store shops."

The revamp comes in the wake of the end of a deal with Ralph Lauren, which produced garments exclusively for retailer JCPenney which were marketed under the American Living label - no use was made of the Ralph Lauren branding.

Senior vice-president of advertising, marketing and corporate communications David Lauren has previously explained the strategy to Marketing Week. He said:

"We have started brands from scratch like American Living which do not say Ralph Lauren and they reach a totally different customer.

"No, they do not know [that Ralph Lauren makes American Living clothes] and it does not matter, it is just us reaching a customer who is looking for less expensive products and in a store where we would not sell Ralph Lauren products."

Other luxury brands are experimenting with whether their logos should feature on products or not. Gucci is working on finding a balance here, to make sure that it reaches 'the more sophisticated end of the market', presumably in response to its logo being flashed on handbags by those in the public eye deemed 'unsophisticated'. Parent company PPR says: "This new strategy is not simply based on finding a new balance between logo.
Other brands are using debranding in their advertising to appeal to specific audiences. Unilever's VO5 Extreme Style hair products were advertised last year in an unbranded 'teaser' TV spot, later followed by a branded commercial in the same style. It featured the 'Pliktisijiteur Pageant,' a show in a fictional village and set early in the 20th century.