RadioShack Corp. is ditching the corporate brand name in its advertisements to appeal to consumers through a more personalized marketing approach that simply uses the phrase “The Shack” to identify the company and its chain of electronic retail stores.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based company is not changing its name, but does intend to use the new nickname as part of a high-profile marketing campaign that aims to make the store brand sound more friendly to its base of potential customers.
The company’s new marketing and creative materials will be unleashed with “The Shack” brand name on Aug. 6. The campaign will be supported through television ads, as well as print and media advertisements, RadioShack said in a statement Monday.
"The Shack" re-branding
RadioShack is in the process of re-branding the company as "The Shack" as well as re-building corporate culture. This will be kicked off by a launch celebration in both San Francisco and New York featuring "14 foot tall laptops" streaming the images from their webcams from one city to the other, live music in both locations, as well as television coverage of the event. The event will take place in Times Square and Justin Herman Plaza on August 6-8, 2009, starting each morning at 6AM Eastern and lasting until Midnight. To help promote the rebranding internally, employees were given T-shirts, travel mugs, and EGrips, all branded with the new "The Shack" logo. These internal promotional items were bundled with a 5 minute long, highly stylized and edited video with an introduction from the CEO explaining what "The Shack" is.
RadioShack Corporation (formerly Tandy Corporation) (NYSE: RSH) is a well known chain of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of North America, Europe, Central America, South America and Africa. As of 2008, it had 4,653 company-owned stores, 688 kiosks, 8 service centers, and 1,408 dealer outlets. RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. RadioShack briefly reopened stores in Canada after losing its former subsidiary InterTAN (independent since 1986) to a purchase by Circuit City in 2004. However, in December 2006, RadioShack Canada announced it would be closing its nine corporate stores to focus on strengthening its core business in the US. The head office of RadioShack is located in Fort Worth, Texas. RadioShack is also a sponsor for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. On July 21, RadioShack announced that they will partner with T-Mobile USA, and will start to offer the service beginning August 19.
RadioShack's current proprietary brands besides RadioShack branded products include Auvio (Audio/Video Cables and Headphones), Enercell (batteries and power accessories), Gigaware (personal computer and iPod/MP3 player accessories), Kronus (tools), Optimus (formerly audio and PA/DJ equipment; now used for digital camera accessories), Presidian (audio and video equipment, telephones, flashlights, calculators, and 2-way radios), VoiceStar (wireless phone accessories). Discontinued brands include Accurian (audio and video equipment and accessories), MyMusix (MP3 players; now marketed under the Gigaware brand), Archer (wiring and antennas), Duofone (telephones & accessories), Micronta (scientific and educational equipment) and Realistic (sound equipment).
The company was reported to become the main sponsor of a new cycling team with Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel.
Read More:
- RadioShack rebrands as “The Shack”
- In Wikipedia: The Radio Shack Corporation
- History Of Branding : Radio Shack
