The iconic Australian brand
Vegemite recently launched an
online contest to name the "new vegemite." Vegemite created a campaign using
You Tube ,
Twitter ,
Facebook and traditional advertising to launch the product and the Name Me contest.
After receiving over 35,000 suggestions the name "iSnack 2.0" was announced as the winner. Immediately negative feedback began to appear on
blogs ,
Facebook groups and
Twitter posts with customers expressing their extreme dislike of the name of one of their favourite brands.
In response to the backlash, Vegemite has decided to
lose the name and will establish a second contest where customers will be able to help choose the new name.
This case demonstrates the importance of pre-testing a new brand image. Vegemite has built brand equity and consumers have a strong identification with the product.
Vegemite had the right idea in asking customers to come up with a name but they weren't involved in the final decision process. The company's decision to act so quickly to respond to the issue demonstrates Vegemite's willingness to adapt and listen to their customers as well.