Pretty soon, consumers will be buying batteries and clock-radios at “The Shack” instead of at Radio Shack.
I cringe just thinking about the business meetings that led to this strategy…
Here’s how the presentation to Radio Shack probably went. The marketing and advertising consultants said something like:
We need a “hipper” feel that’s more relevant to the personal lives of 18-34 year old consumers. We need consumers to connect with us not only at a functional level, but at an emotional level too.
In one of those meetings, someone probably threw around a few fancy terms like “Loyalists” or “Potentials” without any real understanding of what these groups represent and how Radio Shack could target them.
As David Coursey of PC World writes, this is the re-branding equivalent of a “comb-over.” David is spot-on.
Bottom line – this is an attempt to “dupe” consumers rather than to connect with them authentically or to offer them something that’s truly better…or at least something that’s new.