One of the most remarkable things we saw last month was Selfridges' de-branded area whereby iconic products were stripped of their logo. As consumers are constantly bombarded with marketing messages 'The Quiet Shop' was created by the department store to give customers a break from the overwhelming amounts of information and noise they are usually faced with in the shopping environment.
Big brands with iconic products including Marmite (above), Levis' 501 jeans, Clinique's best selling moisturiser and even the Selfridges bag (below) participated in the initiative and although the main aim was to create a calm, message-free shopping experience, there are clearly some additional benefits for these brands to take part.
In reality this initiative did three additional things. Firstly it acted as a unique PR hook for the Selfridges store - ideal for the tough January retail environment. It's a consumer facing story and message that suits the department store brand rather than only talking to customers about sale. Secondly it created affordable, quirky limited addition products that are desirable to the consumer. Finally and most importantly it certified these products as truly iconic. It shows us how impressive the packaging and branding is that without a logo and the marketing messages they are still instantly recognisable to the everyday shopper.
This isn't the first time that Heinz have relied on the consumer to make the connection between their brand and a certain product. This de-brand initiative made us think of the brilliant 2009 Heinz tomato ketchup advert (below). The advert shows every day dinner scenarios whereby the condiment bottle is digitally removed. Without showing the product, Heinz tomato ketchup is relying on being so recognisable that the consumer is already thinking about the brand before the final frame reveals the logo. Heinz have achieved a brand's top goal; they have created a connection between consumers' knowledge of the product category and their brand. When you say or hear tomato ketchup, you think Heinz.
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