In the expansive worlds of marketing and entertainment, some things are eternal – just look at Disney’s mascot Mickey Mouse and you’ll be surprised to learn that the character is over 90 years old! Despite being the oldest mouse in the world, he still remains a cultural icon through TV shows, movie studios, theme parks and all manners of branding and merchandise. However, for every icon or brand that can withstand the test of time, there are many others that die off or get shelved permanently.
When it comes time for a crowd favourite to run its final lap, how should it be sent off so that audiences will continue to remember it fondly? What are the consequences of a bad send off? Read on and find out!
Bittersweet send-offs
Everyone knows the name Indiana Jones. First debuting in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford’s character was a beloved hero to children and adults for nearly half a century.
With Ford now reaching the ripe age of 80 and still insisting on doing many of his own stunts in the recent film The Dial of Destiny, death-defying feats and fast-paced action sequences aren’t something we can expect from him for much longer. Disney knew this and were faced with two choices:
· To continue using the Indiana Jones name, they needed to replace Ford with another actor, or;
· Send Indie off and introduce a new character as his spiritual successor
Disney’s executives went with option 2 – the first and only Indiana Jones film to not be directed by Steven Spielberg or have George Lucas as a writer. Excited fans flocked to cinemas to pay tribute to the official end of Indiana Jones… but instead of coming together to celebrate the end of Indie’s adventures, initial reviews were mixed.
The film introduces Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw – Indiana Jones’ estranged goddaughter – an equally snarky archaeologist with a penchant for fighting and getting into trouble. From that, you can already expect Indie and his goddaughter to wind up in some sort of insidious plot that threatens the balance of the world!
Unfortunately, the writers felt that the best way to usher out Indie was to also saddle him with the debilitating effects of ageing – not quite the heroic send-off we were expecting. Couldn’t the writers have gone a route more akin to No Time to Die (Daniel Craig’s last movie as James Bond, where he stays behind to save his daughter) or Top Gun: Maverick (where Tom Cruise’s Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is shown working alongside the new graduates instead of his usual solo escapades)?
It’s one thing to try and cap the number of stunts out of concern for Ford’s health, but to also depict Indiana Jones as weak and feeble throughout much of the film seems a rather undignified way to say goodbye to someone who’s consistently portrayed as strong and relentless.
When products come and go
Just like with fictional characters, some products and services inevitably reach an end of their lifecycle. And just like with beloved fictional characters, some products and services also amass a huge following – how should we break the news to our fans if we had to retire a product? Let’s look at some examples.
Apple officially discontinued their iPod series products when they announced that the iPod Touch would no longer be produced in spring 2022. It made sense that Apple would want to retire the product, as all of its features were already present on the iPhone – and likely rationalised that the demographic of people who didn’t care for the functions of a phone (nor could afford an iPhone) were small enough to cut off.
Given that the iPod was the undisputed king of music players in the early 2000s – everyone had one or had them on their Christmas or birthday wish list at some point – we thought Apple would include launch some sort of campaign to send off such a historic product. Oddly enough, Apple didn’t bother with one at all. There was just a simple press release and the iPod’s legacy came to an end. Talk about underwhelming!
However, not all products get shelved because they’ve outlived their usefulness. Consider Patek Philippe’s trademark Nautilus Ref. 5711 – one of their flagship watches. Surely, you wouldn’t retire such a popular product when the rumoured waitlist for one was ten years long! Well, turns out it got benched out of principle. Despite being a luxury brand, Patek Phillipe’s ads are often themed around family and bonding between generations. A well-maintained Patek Philippe watch can last multiple lifetimes, so these products were often iconic inheritance gifts as well.
The problem arose when people started flexing their expensive watches on social media. With all these rich influencers showing off their assets, the watch no longer represented family and tradition. It became a symbol of flamboyant wealth. Patek Philippe didn’t like that and made the abrupt decision to stop manufacturing the Nautilus, and the flaunters would have to score their copies from auctions instead (especially if they wanted the one with the Tiffany & Co. signed dial, which went for US $6.5 million).
Let’s do one last example: the infamous McRib from McDonald’s. Neither pricey nor luxurious, the McRib was a sandwich that anyone in the United States could enjoy… just for a limited time. First debuting in 1980, the McRib developed a cult following for how addictive it was – even The Simpsons made a parody of the sandwich with Homer obsessing over it!
However, despite fans pleading for the sandwich to go on the regular menu, McDonald’s always refused. They’d occasionally bring it back and fans would be delighted, but the McRib just wasn’t meant to stay – likely because it was a clever strategy to get fans to feel FOMO and because the cuts of pork needed were too pricey to source continuously. So when McDonald’s announced a cross-country farewell tour for the sandwich during fall 2022, fans began speculating. “We’re hoping this isn’t a ‘goodbye’ but a ‘see you later’,” wrote McDonald’s in the press release – but without any concrete evidence, it could return next year, 10 years later or perhaps never again.
To commemorate this special farewell, McDonald’s went hard on the theme of nostalgia and celebrated the art, clothing and memorabilia dedicated to the 40-year old sandwich, and even listed a bunch of official merchandise for sale. Say what you will about McDonald’s being unhealthy, but their marketers sure aim to please!
A proper send-off
When it comes time to retire a product, there are several important considerations to make. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, it’s a 4-step process:
1. Prepare your messaging
a. Have a reason for why the product is being discontinued
b. Identify which products are affected
c. The cut-off time for making final orders or purchases
d. Identify any last-buy purchase conditions and expected post-sales service life
e. Identify replacement products (if available)
2. Alert key staff
Informing your sales and marketing teams are obvious, but discontinuing a product can often cause customers to request refunds and/or alter their orders, so customer support, billing and logistics teams must also be kept in the loop.
3. Tell the customers
“Whether you choose to proactively communication with your customers is up to you,” explains article contributor Emily Heaslip. “Some brands quietly remove items from the shelves with little fanfare, [whereas] other discontinuations are worth a larger effort.”
Quiet discontinuations should only be used on poor performing products, whereas products with a large customer base or products with unique selling points deserve more attention. “Contact customers with a personalised letter, email, phone call or all of the above,” Heaslip suggests. “The more advance notice you can give, the more time they will have to stock up on the old favourite or learn about and purchase your substitute.” On your website, through press releases or even in-store posters – most avenues of notification are valid when dealing with a popular product.
4. Get feedback
While some lazier brands would end the process here, Heaslip points out that a product discontinuation is a good chance to engage with customers. “What channels worked the best for communication? What could you change next time?” she probes. The more insights you can gather from this ordeal, the better you can adapt for the future.
There’s a lot of reasons for a product, service or icon to be discontinued. Whatever your reason(s) may be, you owe it to your fans and audience to give the product the send-off it deserves – especially if the product has been an influential element across their lives!