MySpace is back! If you didn’t know that then you
should check out the below Youtube clip
In many ways MySpace’s fall was more impressive
than its rise. The brand should have been able to hold onto its position of
power in the Social Network space. The fact that unique visitors fell from 78.9
million per month in 2006 to 34.8 million three years later clearly
demonstrates how big its decline in popularity was.
There are many theories as to why MySpace
ultimately failed to maintain its dominant market position. Many blame the sale
of the Social Media site to News Corp as a preliminary blow that was hard to
come back from. De Wolfe himself has cited a pressure to monetize the site
following the sale as a step in the wrong direction. Whatever the cause it is
clear that De Wolfe’s earlier claim that MySpace would have 400 million users
by 2015 is just not obtainable.
So why would a group of investors try and salvage
this social media ship wreck? Is it even possible to reposition a brand and
restore it to its past glory following such a public fall from grace?
There are examples of companies that have
successfully repositioned brands and there are examples of companies which have
failed and gone out of business. Clearly the success will depend on a number of
factors but most importantly a clear and viable long-term brand mission will be
important.
MG Rover had once enjoyed a healthy position in
the UK car market. However, following years of decline the Birmingham based
brand was left in a perilous position by the turn of the 21st
Century. Following a buy out in 2000 there was hope that a brand refresh and a
product re-launch would be enough to save the company. But when it came down to
it Rover reputation was too damaged to recover and it wasn’t long before the
car maker was confined to the brand graveyard.
However before we begin to assume there is no
hope for MySpace we should consider the tale of Apple. In 1993 you may have
been forgiven for believing the rise and rise of Microsoft would lead to a
permanent burial of the company responsible for the Macbook in the 80’s
But Apple wasn’t about to lie down and die an
easy death. Apple carefully evaluated its position in the market, where
technology was going and most importantly stuck to its gun on its brad strategy
moving forward; Apple would be the icon of doing things differently ad this
couldn’t have been anymore evident in its unique differentiated approach to
releasing MP3 players and phones with a clear focus on usability and a rebel
image. And in terms of brand success the rest is history.
Reading the above review which details some of
the key changes in Myspace strategy it is clear that it is going to take more
than the removal of a capital S in the logo to create success. You can’t argue
with the ambition of the new owners and the clear focus they are placing on
music, personalized radio station content, etc. And if nothing else early Brand
scoring metrics will probably be music to the investor’s ears as negative
perception continues to fall as detailed below.
It is clear that Myspace can go one of two ways
in the future. It can stick to a strategy look to offer a differentiated
product portfolio and have a clear aligned band strategy or it can jump from
one strategy to another in a desperate search to provide a purpose and meaning
to the target audience. Whatever way it goes there is no doubting it is a
massive task and a warning to all powerful brands in any market that you can’t
forget about your brand strategy.
