I find it funny when failing companies try to stay afloat with rebranding themselves to make people think they are different in some way. Every time I've heard of a company doing this, it has never gone well for them and you'd think they would learn from past mistakes, but they don't. Just like KFC's failed attempt at rebranding , Radio Shack is also trying to rebrand themselves.

Let's face it. Ever since the Internet has taken the middle man out of shopping, it has been the top competitor for brick and mortar businesses. Who wants to physically go to a store and deal with obnoxious sales reps just to pay more than it's being offered for online. I'm not saying every brick and mortar store should just give up trying to beat the Internet, but maybe it's time for them to change their business model and embrace technology.

Ever since I can remember, Radio Shack (now trying to call themselves "The Shack") has pretty much been a useless store. They have NEVER had good prices; most of them are located in malls; they have those obnoxious sales reps I was talking about; and they don't even offer good products. I can't recall one time I've gone to a Radio Shack and walked out finding what I needed.

Apart from all the problems Radio Shack faces to stay afloat, I just don't get the whole idea of expecting that changing your name will help you get more customers or money. The worst part of this particular rebranding is that they don't even have enough assets to change the signs on their stores to say "The Shack". Instead, they are asking the few customers that actually come to their store to change their name for them.

This is probably the worst rebranding /facepalm I've seen.

There are quite a few /facepalms going on in this story. Hopefully I can find all of them, but I'm sure there are some I'm missing.

Basically, KFC and Oprah paired up to give away free chicken. Oprah announced on her show that people can go to a website, download a coupon and go get a free sample of KFC's new grilled chicken. Little did KFC know how popular this coupon thing would be. After one day, they decided to stop honoring the coupons because they were giving away too many.

Okay, now that you understand the story, let's count the /facepalms

1. Oprah has been dealing with weight issues for a long time. She has had many doctors on her show and telling everyone how important healthy eating is. KFC comes around, and offers her advertising money, and she promotes a company that has the word "fried" in their name.
   
2. KFC as a business has been struggling for quite a few years now. Giving away free food to entice people to try your product isn't a bad idea in and of itself. The /facepalm here is the person that didn't think about how big this could get. KFC had to pay Oprah to endorse it AND they had to pay for the actual free food they were giving away. Worst of all, they are paying dearly for how bad their brand has been hurt from having to cancel the coupons. The very people they were trying to get to come to their stores are now mad that they can't redeem their coupons.
3. It never fails to amaze me how far the average person will go to get something for free. According to the article, there were people waiting "out the door and around the block" to redeem their coupon for free chicken. Come on people. Why don't people realize that their time is worth money? It reminds me of the long lines people stand in the day before Thanksgiving just to get a good deal that will save them a few dollars. Time should be worth more than a free chicken meal.
   

This marketing strategy was called "Unthink what you thought about KFC". It's ironic because now people think of KFC as a bunch of idiots who can't make good business decision. Good job, KFC, for helping me to "Unthink" what I used to think about you.