CBX

By Sandra C.

The company that owns the long standing Max Factor brand, Procter & Gamble, is discontinuing the line in the US as of this year, signaling the death of an American icon. It doesn’t count that Max Factor is still going to be distributed globally in over 60 markets (it has a different look and feel outside the US and has for some time), it will still disappear entirely from the US market. So, for most American women, this is a sad event.

Max Factor has been around since the beginning of Hollywood, and up until the brand’s relaunch in 2005, it conveyed aspects of that legendary Hollywood glamour in its marketing efforts. As a result, it gained nostalgia with a heritage that other makeup brands would love to have. Its extermination, for many consumers, it is like experiencing the death of a Hollywood legend. In fact, many women who feel upset are not even current Max Factor consumers.

So the question remains, when a brand dies with such a strong equity, should it be buried and forgotten, or resuscitated? Should P&G hold on to the name and not allow anyone else to bring the brand back to life? I don’t think so.

There are many women who are disappointed (just read posts on blogs and you’ll see: Bellasugar.com and Confessions of a Mommy Makeup Addict and if there was a way to distribute this brand through channels that are open to the brand, it could make money. Perhaps it could be repositioned and repackaged as a higher end brand and made exclusive? Even though this may not be possible at the moment due to ownership rights, a strong brand equity, which is so hard to build, is more than enough reason to think of new ways to keep the brand alive and find new avenues to capitalize on its recognition.