Summary:
In recent years, several prominent companies, including Budweiser, Target, and Cracker Barrel, have faced significant financial and reputational setbacks due to poorly executed rebranding efforts. MSNBC, a cable news channel known for its left-leaning commentary, is now rebranding as “MS Now” after a dramatic decline in viewership and internal turmoil. The channel’s shift reflects broader struggles within media and corporate sectors to balance ideology with profitability. This article explores the consequences of these rebranding failures and their implications for businesses navigating similar challenges.
What This Means for You:
- Understand the risks of rebranding without a clear understanding of your target audience.
- Evaluate the balance between ideological messaging and profitability in your business strategy.
- Stay informed about shifts in media consumption trends and their impact on brand loyalty.
- Be cautious of over-reliance on polarizing narratives, which can alienate key demographics.
Original Post:
In the last several years, rebranding has turned formerly successful businesses into wrecks. Woke executives who hadn’t a clue about their company’s customers tried to improve what wasn’t broken and it blew up in their faces. Budweiser lost billions. So did Target, and Cracker Barrel—Cracker Barrel?!—has leapt off the cliff into the bottomless DEI pit. No one yet knows what Jaguar intended with its bizarre commercial featuring colorful but blank faced mutants of ambiguous gender, cavorting and wielding a sledgehammer without a car in sight. On X, Elon Musk quickly asked whether Jaguar had anything to do with cars. Jaguar replied “yes,” but has produced nothing to support that contention. Jaguar compounded that disaster by announcing it is going all-electric as the planet-wide electric vehicle doom loop is closing, probably for good, leaving Jaguar dealers with nothing to sell in the meantime.
MSNBC, commonly known as MSDNC, has always been painfully woke. During its glory days it paid Rachel Maddow an obscene salary for a single weekly pro-Democrat/Harris, anti-Trump/America rant. Immediately after Trump’s reelection, things went from bad to worse:
MSNBC’s ratings have tanked 54% in the days after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris — a win that left MSNBC’s staunchly anti-Trump hosts speechless.
The ratings are down 40% from this time last year, according to Nielsen data.
Maddow reportedly lost at least $5 million in yearly salary, and was forced to do more than one weekly rant virtually no one was watching. The future looked grim:
The pay reduction comes as panic engulfed MSNBC’s 30 Rock headquarters in Midtown, as The Post reported, over Comcast’s plan to spin off its cable channels by the end of 2025.
Splitting off MSNBC from NBC News could force the cable channel to change its name, logo and headquarters, and may lead to layoffs.
The future has arrived, and MSNBC, soon to become “MS Now” is rebranding and hastily applying lipstick to that woke, cable pig:
Graphic: X Post
“MS NOW” officially stands for “My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.”
“MS NOW” might as well stand for “My Sweaty Nards Occupy Wisconsin,” because this is a death blow.
“This new branding underscores our mission: to serve as a destination for breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism, all rooted in accurate and reported facts,” chirped MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler in an internal memo.
“[D]uring this time of transition, NBCUniversal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity,” Kutler added. “This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering operation.”
Translation: NBCUniversal decided to cut their losses because woke is in its death throes and MSNBC was dragging NBCUniversal down with it.
MSNBC began as a joint NBC/Microsoft cable channel whose stock in trade was Trump conspiracy theories. Maddow, who was initially popular, was one of the primary hawkers of the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. She assured her viewers the walls were closing in on Trump any minute, really, no kidding, any minute now, probably right after this commercial, so stay tuned. And viewers did, until Trump was reelected and viewers who believed Maddow were stunned. So stunned they stayed stunned and tuned Maddow out.
So, MSNBC is now MS NOW! It’s the same lunatic leftist talking heads pushing the same “Trump is Hitler, a dictator and he’s destroying ‘our democracy,’” hair on fire hysteria that caused viewers and NBC to dump them. It turns out even leftist businesses still have to eventually participate in capitalism in order to survive, which requires making money rather than losing truckloads of it. Leftist ideology doesn’t put food on the table, quite the opposite.
Like Democrats generally, MS NOW’s old schtick isn’t working and they haven’t a clue how to fix things.
That’s a net positive for America.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Extra Information:
For further reading on the impact of rebranding failures, check out these resources: Harvard Business Review on rebranding pitfalls and Forbes’ guide to successful rebranding. These articles provide actionable insights and case studies to help businesses avoid common mistakes.
People Also Ask About:
- Why did Budweiser lose billions after rebranding? Budweiser alienated its core audience by prioritizing divisive messaging over brand loyalty.
- What caused MSNBC’s viewership decline? MSNBC’s anti-Trump rhetoric and extreme ideological stance drove away viewers.
- How does rebranding affect company profitability? Poorly executed rebranding can lead to financial losses and diminished customer trust.
- What are the risks of embracing DEI initiatives? Overemphasis on DEI without alignment with customer values can backfire.
- Is the electric vehicle market sustainable for luxury brands like Jaguar? The EV market’s volatility poses significant challenges for luxury automakers.
Expert Opinion:
Rebranding failures like those of Budweiser, Target, and MSNBC underscore the importance of aligning corporate strategies with customer expectations. Businesses must prioritize audience research and avoid alienating core demographics in pursuit of ideological goals. As the media and corporate landscapes evolve, organizations that balance innovation with authenticity are most likely to thrive.
Key Terms:
- Corporate rebranding failures
- MSNBC viewership decline
- Impact of DEI initiatives on business
- Electric vehicle market challenges
- Balancing ideology and profitability
- Media consumption trends 2024
- Customer loyalty in brand strategy
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