Brand Strategy: Can Lady Gaga save Polaroid?
Polaroid, a brand that’s been around since 1937, has come to stand for cameras that produce instant prints. A great brand strategy for the time, but not a very relevant brand perception to own in today’s e-everything world. The company missed the move to digital and ended up in bankruptcy twice in the past 10 years.
In 2008, it announced it would stop producing film for those few who still owned and used Polaroid cameras. But wait! The new owners of Polaroid have now inked a deal with 23-year-old fashionista/songstress Lady Gaga who will now serve as Creative Director/spokesperson for the brand and announced new imaging products to come from the Polaroid/Gaga partnership. Gagaroid? Lady Gaga—and the majority of her fan base—seem unlikely to have any firsthand brand experience with Polaroid, so the obvious question is: “Will these products breathe new life into a near extinct brand, or is this just another gasp for air by a desperate brand owner?” Who knows, maybe with a little creative advertising and marketing, the Gaga product line could gain momentum.
History shows that successful brand strategy means offering products that are relevant to customers, different from competitors and credible. It’s hard for me to imagine a line of relevant and different imaging products from Polaroid to be successful in today’s world, with or without Gaga’s likeness or fame. A more interesting question is: What’s in it for Gaga?
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It will be interesting to see if Polaroid’s new Gaga products will focus on fashion & ‘coolness’ rather than advanced functionality. Lady Gaga’s brand equity is growing at an intense rate because of how off-the-wall her personal brand has become. She’s a very atypical popstar, and if the aspects that have made her unique in the eyes of her fans can successfully translate into a camera line, I believe Polaroid will find a niche.