Is a brand dead when stores stop selling it?

Imation doesn't think so. Imation is the largest seller of recordable compact discs and speaking of rising from the dead, for the past few years Imation has been trying to revive the old Memorex brand. Memorex used to be about digital storage if you remember but now stands for things like DVD players, digital photo frames and various iPod accessories. Imation has seen moderate success through this approach and are now attempting to revive the TDK brand as a high-end line of stereo gear. In both cases each brand's product offering is quite different this time around. However their brand equity generally remains the same. You might call these "zombie" brands. Shadows of what they once were yet still very familiar. And that is precisely their appeal, built-in customer awareness. People are already familiar with the brand name which significantly reduces the initial marketing costs. You're reminding people of something versus introducing something new. Companies do this all the time. Ford with the Taurus, Coca-Cola with Tab and Time Magazine with Life Magazine to name a few. It has it's advantages but it also comes with baggage. You don't have the clean slate that a new brand name offers. Old brands have old reputations and predisposed judgments by the customer. It may be an uphill battle trying to convince people that the old brand is worth another try. Good research can give you idea but only time will tell.

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