What do crayons and cats have in common? They both entertain kids, and Crayola has to compete with them along with 39,000,000 other things that keep kids busy. Think about it-Crayola isn’t in the crayon business, they’re in the children entertainment business- and it looks like they are getting sick of leaving money on the table.
A USA Today article chronicles the new massive undertaking of doubling Crayola’s business.
A USA Today article chronicles the new massive undertaking of doubling Crayola’s business.
[Hallmark Cards, last month announced the name will be changed to Crayola on Jan. 1.
The name change is symbolic of an image revamp going on at one of the nation's best-known icons. Crayola is all done being a stodgy, buck-a-pack crayon company with tunnel vision and red-white-and-blue conservative values.
The company is working overtime this holiday to reinvent itself as a flashy maker of $20 gifts, from a "no-mess" spin-art machine to a mess-proof spray-painter that's emerging as one of its best-selling new products in decades. The company, which also owns the Silly Putty brand, is no longer a holiday advertising no-show, either. This year, it's tripling its holiday marketing budget, says Steven Ferry, a senior manager.]
At the outset it seems like Crayola is steering away from it’s Jim Collins-Hedgehog-type concept. But take a closer look. Maybe they’re just not focusing on the niche concept of crayons and markers, but viewing their core competence as entertaining children, where art is simply their medium.
I wanna be a hedgehog but I think I am way to inclined to spread it out like a fox. Something you mention draws me to what CEO of McDonald once said. "We are not in the business of hamburgers but real estate." It shocked me at first but after much thought I realize that they make money from having the stores in prime location and franchizing.
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