You are here: Home / Branding / When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of……

When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of……

By 3 Comments

RM Williams Tea Coffee When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......Tea and Coffee…… Tea and Coffee? What the? R.M Williams, aren’t they “The Bush Outfitter”? So after a hot day working on the land, you hop off your horse in your R.M Williams boots and your R.M Williams moleskins, you stop for a nice cup of…….. english breakfast tea? Huh?

To quote a line out of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries, “the easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything”.  For me, this is a classic example of a brand extension that makes no sense.

Here is the website with the rationale. What do you think?

pixel When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......
When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......

Chris Dale

Chris Dale is the founder and managing director of MarketingHQ. He loves to help businesses of all sizes get more out of their marketing – and by more he means more sales! Find out more about him here or feel free to connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
twitter When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......facebook When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......linkedin When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......pinterest When You Think Of R.M Williams, You Think Of......

Filed Under: Branding Tagged With: ,
  • http://www.plusone.com.au Plusone Marketing

    Well the guy lives only 30 k from here but heck , yes branding everything is too much. To me the RM brand once stood for top quality, last a lifetime (AKA the boots). But I go into the big RM Williams store here in Toowoomba and they have all sorts of stuff. In fact I have an RM rain jacket in my wardrobe. Did I buy it because it will outlive me – no I have it because I needed to use a gift voucher. Otherwise I would not have a $200 jacket, that is made in China, and really no better quality than I could have bought for half the price sitting in by wardrobe waiting for a cold wet winter.

    So no – in my opinion they have ruined the brand. Both by putting it on too many things, including stuff that is not made to last a lifetime…

    Well, fancy the response being longer than the post!

  • http://www.marketinghq.com.au/ Chris Dale

    Thanks for the response Matt. Yes you've definitely outdone me on the length of post!

    Great also to have some insight from someone who is close(ish) to RM Williams territory. It seems from your post they've got a few issues with the brand and product quality. Your comment reminded me a bit of my perception of Country Road clothes and why I stopped buying them. Paying over the odds for the brand and then not getting the product quality you expect…a sure way to kill a brand.

    I'm still shaking my head as to why they would make the decision to extend into coffee and tea. Makes as much sense as Gloria Jeans making riding boots. Crazy stuff. Will be interesting to see if it lasts. My prediction is it won't…

    Chris

  • http://www.plusone.com.au Plusone Marketing

    It is like Canterbury – they killed the brand via product quality slipping.

    Now I buy from Rivers. Sure that have poncy stuff about thick soles..blah blah, but quality for the price wins my $$