Hello, wise one,
In the marketing world, how you ‘frame’ something can have a dramatic effect on its success.
Whether you’re selling deep-sea fish or a bucket of fried chicken, how you label your product determines the value your customer assigns to it.
Today, we’re looking at 5 classic examples of ‘reframing’ or the art of changing the meaning of a product without changing the product itself.
1. The Power of Cultural Branding: Chinese Gooseberry vs Kiwi Fruit
In the 1950s, New Zealand exporters wanted to sell the Actinidia deliciosa, otherwise known as the Chinese Gooseberry, to the American market.
But this was the height of the Cold War, and the term Chinese gooseberry was a marketing nightmare.
They needed a new name.
The first suggestion was ‘melonettes’, but this was equally unpopular with US importers because melons and berries were subject to high import tariffs.
In June 1959, a grower, Jack Turner, suggested the name ‘kiwifruit’, after New Zealand’s national bird.
The new name made the fruit sound exotic and more palatable than a sour-tasting gooseberry, enabling the exporters to charge a premium.
2. Turning Flaws into Features: The Ugly Fruit Campaign
In 2014, the French supermarket Intermarché faced a massive food waste problem.
People were rejecting produce that didn’t look perfect but was perfectly edible.
So they created the ‘Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables’ campaign.
By celebrating the ‘ugly’ fruit and veggies, they flipped a negative into a positive.
People were happy to buy the misshapen produce they would normally have rejected.
And because Intermarché was able to buy them more cheaply from producers who would otherwise have thrown them away, it passed the discount on to its customers.
The outcome?
Within the first two days, stores sold 1.2 tons of this produce, reducing food waste.
They also experienced a more than 20% increase in overall foot traffic.
3. The Sensory Switch: The Slimehead vs The Orange Roughy
The hoplostethus atlanticus is a deep-sea fish with a remarkably unappetising name: the slimehead.
Quite a tough sell on a restaurant menu.
So, in the 1970s, the US National Marine Fisheries Service renamed it the ‘Orange Roughy’.
It ditched the ‘slime’ (so called because of its mucus-secreting membranes) and focused on the colour (orange) and the texture (rough scales) instead.
The result?
It became one of the most popular whitefish in the US, proving that the wrong name can leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
4. The Linguistic Buffer: Kentucky Fried Chicken vs KFC
In 1991, the fast-food giant officially changed its name to its initials.
Why?
They wanted to remove the word ‘fried from the customer’s immediate consciousness.
By using an acronym, the brand created a buffer between the product and the negative health connotations of deep-frying.
Now, anyone could alleviate their guilt when they place their next order.
Fun fact: There was another reason for the same change.
In 1990, the Commonwealth of Kentucky was in debt and took the unusual step of trademarking the name ‘Kentucky.’
They began charging licensing fees to any brand using the state’s name for profit.
Rather than pay millions in royalties to the state for a name they’d used for 40 years, the company rebranded to KFC.
5. Sanitising Vice: Gambling vs Gaming
In the 1980s, the US casino industry faced a branding crisis as it sought to expand outside of Nevada.
‘Gambling’ was associated with vice, organised crime, and financial ruin.
So what did they do?
They transitioned to the ‘gaming industry.’
Whilst ‘gambling’ implies a high-risk activity where the house usually wins, ‘gaming’ links the activity to play, fun, and video games.
It reframes financial risk-taking as a ‘leisure experience.’
This frame made it much easier for state governments to justify licensing ‘Gaming Commissions’ rather than ‘Gambling Boards,’ since it sounded as if they were regulating entertainment rather than vice.
The takeaway?
Perception matters. Massively so.
If your product or message is struggling, maybe it needs a reframe?
Looking at it from a different angle can solve the problem without changing the thing itself. It’s like magic!
Happy framing,
Chris & the 42courses team x
