The importance of aligned values

By: Kayla Hunt, Columnist

Rebranding seems to be a popular business move that many corporations are partaking in.

It started with IHOP earlier this year, when they made the big announcement to change its infamous name from International House of Pancakes to International House of Burgers. Papa John’s is striving to drop the apostrophe out of their name in order to disassociate former owner John Schnatter. Weight Watchers is changing it’s tagline to “Wellness that works” as an effort to shift their focus from dieting to wellness. Dunkin’ Donuts is dropping the Donuts from their name in order to compete more with coffee shops such as Starbucks.

However, sometimes change is not always good, depending on the consumers’ view of the company.

In the case of IHOP, they received a lot of commotion when they announced that they were changing the name of the brand. When most people think of IHOP, they think of breakfast food- therefore, burgers was a big shock. A week after the announcement, IHOP explained that it was just a tool they used to promote their new line of burgers, they were not actually changing the name of the corporation.

In contrast, Papa John’s changing their name may be more appealing to consumers because it shows that the company is no longer associating themselves with Schnatter, who was fired after receiving controversy from spewing racial comments.

Even though Schnatter was fired shortly after the controversy, Papa John’s wants to make a more public statement by changing the image of the brand. When people think of Papa John’s they do not want them to think of the former owner because that may drive business away.

According to a 2018 survey conducted by Euclid, 68 percent of Baby Boomers, 54 percent of Millennials and 59 percent of Generation X express that products are equally as important as the brand’s values to their perception of the brand. Companies are trying to find new ways to attract consumers, and one of the key aspects of the relationship between businesses and consumers is brand loyalty. And what is one of the driving factors behind a consumer’s loyalty to a brand? Consumers want to be on the same page in terms of a company’s aligned values.

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