Martha Stewart Brand Dilution

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1. What is Martha Stewart the brand? What is the brand identity? Do multiple brand identities exist?

Martha Stewart's brand stands for stylish and traditional American living. She is brilliant at channeling the taste and passion of her customers into new products and media. She is said to turn "dreamers into doers". Taking this in to the context of how corporate strategists want the brand to be perceived by internal and external constituents arrives at a brand identity. The core identity or primary associations include such words as "American living", "homemaker", "tasteful", "stylish", "how-to info", and "home". Extended associations include words related to the product offering such as "gardening", "cooking", and "home renovation", as well as words showing conflict in Martha Stewart the person such as "gracious hostess" vs "perfectionist", and "model of femininity" vs "business woman". Other secondary attributes include Martha's slogan "It's a good thing" and the Turkey Hill chicken coop. The core identity, or brand essence, sets the guiding vision for MSLO. As such, these values should not and do not change in relation to consumer segments, brand extensions, or corporate strategy. Nonetheless, the manner in which the brand is promoted, communicated, or advertised to different segments may differ. In fact, the identity can be perceived as being different amongst MSLO's customers. Different brand images may exist amongst customers of the different offerings: home vs cooking vs gardening.

2. Where do these identity elements come from—Martha Stewart the person or Martha Stewart the brand?

The reality is that it is almost impossible to separate Martha Stewart the person from Martha Stewart the brand. The success of MSLO lies in the successful creation of the brand from the person. For example, the strength in Martha Stewart's brand can be found in how the customer takes ownership in the brand. On some note, they "relate" to Martha. Martha has touched their lives and made those lives better. "Ask any of her brand loyalists and they'll tell you that Martha understands their lives, which is why they listen to her, follow her advice and buy her products" (Frankel). Attributes such as "tasteful", "stylish", and "homemaker" are personality traits whereas "cooking" and "gardening" are traits of MSLO. Likewise, as we saw in the case, a comprehensive report of MSLO will undoubtedly include stories about Martha Stewart's personal life. The brand and company succeeds on her celebrity status and vice versa.

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