Brand Blindness and the Threat of Private Label Brands Although Naomi Klein addresses what is known as “brand blindness” resulting from Marlboro Friday then eventually fading, this idea of brand blindness is alive and well today and may continue to thrive as superstores like Costco become more prevalent, this is a level of competition big brands have historically found threatening. Naomi Klein’s “No Logo” is undoubtedly a great summary of the path branding has taken from the 19th century to the 21st century, though Klein appears to be very emotionally driven compared to Satel and Lilienfeld’s “The Buyologist Is In: The Rise of Neuromarketing”. While Klein discusses the impact branding …show more content…
A more economically smart private-label brand that is able to meet or surpass the consumers’ expectations. Costco’s approach to marketing is essentially non-existent, Ashely Lutz writes in “Costco’s Simple Strategy for Outperforming Wal-Mart and Target” from Business Insider, states “while Wal-Mart and Target pour money into marketing, Costco has a no-frills approach and doesn’t advertise.” (Lutz, para. 5). Costco has also created a brand, Kirkland Signature. On Costco’s website, there can be found a brief history of this private-label brand and what items the brand produces. The Kirkland Signature label today appears on about 20 percent of the products you find in your local warehouse- on everything from men’s dress shirts to laundry detergent, pet food to toilet paper, canned foods to cookware, olive oil to beer, and automotive products to health and beauty aids. With stores like Costco offering virtually everything the consumer could possibly need or want for a lower cost, is it really a surprise some of the bigger brands feel threatened by these private-label brands? Although Kirkland is a ‘brand’ it is still a store brand; the only place you will find Kirkland products is through Costco, so is the current economic savvy consumer brand blind? Or are their eyes open to the product rather than the