Americus Reed:
Well, the answer is actually both. One would think that just changing a picture is not that big of a deal, but it turns out that, with brands, that the logo, the colors, the imagery, the graphics, over time, they take on more than just the meaning that is associated with their aesthetic.
In other words, Uncle Herschel is not just the picture of an elderly man leaning against a barrel, and the barrel is not just a barrel. It is a symbol of a lifestyle. In other words, when you walk into that store, there’s a feeling that you get, right? It’s an old country store. There are antiques. There are rocking chairs. There’s apple pie and fantastic pancakes.
And so when you walk in there, the entire experience is subsumed by all of the imagery that goes into what the brand is, the meaning system that the brand stands for. And as a loyal customer who maybe has been going to Cracker Barrels for years, you have that feeling that it connects with who you are. You affiliate with it because it has social utility to you.
And so, when Uncle Herschel disappears, you have in your mind perhaps the idea that the values, the beliefs, the ideologies, all of that stuff that goes along with Cracker Barrel might be disappearing too. And that’s very, very psychologically troubling for some consumers, because they feel then that, if you are now — my self-concept is infused in this idea, and now you’re changing, so you’re trying to change me, and I don’t want to change.
