Unpopular opinion: rebranding a failing restaurant is just putting lipstick on a pig

I walked into a diner in Akron last month that had new signs, new logo, new paint on the walls... but the menu was exactly the same garbage food from before. The owner told me "fresh start" but I saw the same old grease stains on the floor. So which matters more for brand management - fixing what's under the hood or just polishing the outside? Has anyone else seen a rebrand fail because they skipped the hard work of fixing the actual product?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray32416d ago

That "lipstick on a pig" line really hits... I had a buddy who ran a BBQ place that tried the same thing, new name and all, but the brisket was still tough as leather. He spent six grand on a sign but wouldn't fix the smoker. The old regulars just laughed and went to the place down the street.

abbychen16d ago

That's rough, @ray324. It's always the same story when people try to polish a turd instead of fixing what's actually broken.