Well, as always, I’m getting asked a lot about the recent Cracker Barrel rebrand. These things rarely go well – have you noticed? I’ve been a part of probably hundreds of rebrands in my career (so far) and some have gone better than others. The question I would ask is why? Then, I’d want to know did someone internal at CB feel that the brand was tired? Was it sending the wrong message? What made them feel the need to pivot? What does the new branding say about the company, and why would this be BETTER? At the end of the day, what is my opinion? I am at a disadvantage as I was not briefed on the REASON behind the rebrand. The minimalistic approach and stripping of the walls in their restaurants don’t make a lot of sense to me. I feel their previous branding at such a quaint voice that it was truly unique. Making CB appear more modern by stripping it down looks like a mistake to me. At the end of the day, brands need to NOT walk away from who they are and who their core customers are simply to become something else – you will lose your customers this way. Time will tell if they did it right or not, but I’m betting on not.
-Jonathan Sackett