Tabu – Brand Revival

Insight by Leah

Tabu, that fragrance that reminds everyone of the 1970’s, recently won the best mass-market, drugstore, budget or direct-sell fragrance in the 9th Annual Basenotes Awards.  This Dana Classics fragrance has been going through somewhat of a brand revival, and has been mainly focused on building an online following (check out the Facebook page) to grab consumer focus.  As with any brand revival, it’s always difficult to tap into consumer memories, and to build a customer base off of select brand memories.  However, the Tabu approach has been interesting to date, and may eventually offer a model for other, older brands that want to reach a new audience.

A few things that Tabu can begin to do to expand their potential:

1. Listen to their consumers – it would be great for consumers to have an active forum where they could add comments and suggestions for the brand – on everything from packaging to slight fragrance changes.  These conversations can take place on a brand blog or even on the Facebook page.

2. Create or build a new compelling message to consumers – when reviving a brand, it’s not enough to "rest on your laurels."  Tabu needs to update their 1970’s image and tagline to be relevant for the current market.

3. Explore other distribution channels – despite some initial forays online, my guess would be that Tabu is still mainly sold through corner drugstores.  Why not open up to other channels including HSN or other online channels?

What are your thoughts on Tabu or on brand revival?