Bad news isn’t bad wine. It doesn’t improve with age. According to Bain & Co, 80% of CEOs think their brands offer a superior experience, but only 8% of their consumers agreed. AOL seemed to have gleaned that fact. AOL’s running man (logo) had already run off the cliff, revealing a brand that was desecrated, unoriginal, normalized and downtrodden.
The business goal of any brand is to create more users, new users or new uses by continually innovating to add value to customer’s lives. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong needs to ask himself: What is AOL’s true brand ambition? What does he wish his AOL brand to be capable of achieving? With great brands come great benefits — including higher customer loyalty, increased opportunities and elevated profits.