Cracker Barrel mess started with one bad decision

Many of us are just about Cracker Barreled to death at this point and ready to move on to the next wildly stupid corporate misstep. Never fear, it will be here soon enough.

Until then, I’m here to say that Cracker Barrel’s fundamental mistake, the root from which the entire mess sprang, is simple: Cracker Barrel chose the wrong agency to lead its brand overhaul.

In fact, the awful logo redesign and ensuing backlash could have been avoided altogether if the company had honestly answered one fundamental question:

Does the agency we have chosen have a deep connection with and understanding of our customer?

The answer would have been a resounding “No!”

The agency, Prophet, is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in several other cosmopolitan cities like Zurich, London, Dubai and Shanghai. Not exactly places where you’d expect to see a guy in oil-stained jeans looking for a plate of bacon and pancakes. To be fair, they also have offices in Austin, Atlanta and a few other U.S. locations that are probably a bit more tuned into the Cracker Barrel vibe, but I suspect not by much.

Mega agencies in the brand/strategy space like to flex about how worldly and uber-sophisticated they are. Their clients aren’t local yokels like, say, a homegrown plumbing repair business or a regional burger chain. Oh no, their roster is studded with global brands that share their global ideals and in large part are not terribly concerned with Joe Schmo from middle America.

More than just a logo

And that’s the rub. Cracker Barrel may be big – 77,000 employees and almost $3.5 billion in revenue – but their brand has always looked and felt more like a mom & pop business. Which their customers appreciated.

And their logo reflected this, including a country gentleman kind of guy -- good ol' Uncle Herschel -- leaning on a barrel. This character no doubt looked a lot like Cracker Barrel’s customers, or at least the values a lot of them hold dear even if they don't wear overalls.

A massive disconnect

Imagine a 20-somethng hipster at an international brand agency sitting down for a chat with Uncle Herschel. Now you get the idea. They come from two different worlds, about as different as downtown Zurich is from downtown Zapata, Texas.

Herschel, the old country boy, is worried about why his tractor is running a little rough, and the agency hipster is worried about how they are going to attract more Tik Tok followers.

Herschel likes all that clutter inside a Cracker Barrel restaurant. All that kitsch reminds him of his dear granny and Sunday dinners with her before all the kids headed to the pond to take turns on the rope swing. The hipster has no idea what a rope swing is, and is a vegan who drinks skinny lattes, not black coffee.

A cultural conundrum

They’re both fine. But they simply have nothing in common.  Which is why the agency hipster is going to miss the mark by a country mile when they make their recommendations about updating the Cracker Barrel brand.

They’ll recommend decluttering the physical space – which would probably make perfect sense in Zurich or New York, but not in places like Baton Rouge or Tulsa.

They’ll propose a “cleaner” more contemporary logo, including killing off Uncle Herschel (the country boy), the barrel, and the “Old Country Store” tag.

In other words, they’ll recommend getting rid of all the symbolism that so closely connects Cracker Barrel with their customers.

Brilliant! A recipe for success just as awesome as New Coke!

The right agency for the right client

I’ve worked with a respected global agency before and fully acknowledge how much they taught me. I’m sure Prophet does some fantastic work...when they work for clients whose customers more closely align with Prophet.

But the lesson from the Cracker Barrel fiasco is painfully obvious: When you select consultants to help you update your company brand, be sure they deeply understand your market from the get-go.

The limitations of research

Not just from research, but from their own lived experiences. I love data for strategic insights, but no amount of data can replace the in-your-gut knowhow that comes from knowing the target market because you are part of it.

Had Cracker Barrel’s leadership considered the importance of this kind of deep understanding, they could have avoided this costly rebranding firestorm.

San Francisco and Uncle Herschel live in two very different worlds. Lesson learned. Maybe.

Pro tip: Plenty of excellent agencies out there are perfect for YOUR company and your market and they are not headquartered in New York, London or some other mega city. Mind blown, right?

Let’s talk about it. Contact The Whittington Group at 210.240.9041 or ericw@thiswgroup.com