Brand autopsies
Famous brands don't usually die from one bad decision. They die from a string of them that nobody questioned at the time. Each autopsy looks at what really went wrong, and what marketers can take from it.
FTX Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed FTX?
FTX was valued at $32 billion, ran a Super Bowl ad and put its name on an NBA arena. It collapsed within days in 2022. Its marketing built the trust.
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WeWork Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed WeWork?
WeWork was valued at $47 billion in January 2019. Its IPO collapsed that September and it filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Its brand promised far too much.
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Enron Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Enron?
Fortune named Enron America's most innovative company six years running. It went bust in December 2001. The fraud was the cause. The brand was the cover.
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Circuit City Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Circuit City?
Circuit City starred in 'Good to Great', then fired about 3,400 of its best-paid staff in 2007 and was liquidated in 2009. That firing tells the story.
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Tower Records Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Tower Records?
Tower Records hit about $1 billion in yearly sales, then liquidated its US stores in 2006. Napster gets the blame, but the debt came first. Here's why.
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Borders Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Borders?
Borders had over 1,200 bookstores at its peak and closed them all in 2011. E-books get the blame, but a 2001 deal with Amazon may have done more damage.
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Pan Am Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Pan Am?
Pan Am launched the 747 in 1970 and was the world's most glamorous airline. By 1991 it was gone. Lockerbie is remembered. The real mistake came first.
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Kmart Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Kmart?
Kmart opened its first store in 1962, the same year as Walmart, and led US discount retail. By 2002 it was bankrupt. The price war it started was the end.
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RadioShack Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed RadioShack?
RadioShack had over 7,000 stores and sold one of the first mass-market PCs, then went bankrupt twice in two years. Its 2014 Super Bowl ad said it all.
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Toys "R" Us Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Toys "R" Us?
Toys R Us closed all 735 US stores in 2018. Everyone blamed Amazon and Walmart. The bigger killer was a $6.6 billion buyout that loaded it with debt.
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BlackBerry Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed BlackBerry?
BlackBerry was worth about $83 billion in 2008 and had a US president as a loyal user. By 2016 it quit making phones. The iPhone wasn't the whole story.
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Myspace Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Myspace?
News Corp bought Myspace for $580 million in 2005 and sold it for about $35 million in 2011. Facebook gets the blame, but the ad deal mattered more.
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Jet.com Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Jet.com?
Jet.com launched in 2015 to take on Amazon and sold to Walmart for $3.3 billion a year later. By 2020, it was gone. Failure, or a very expensive success?
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Google Stadia Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Google Stadia?
Google Stadia launched in 2019 promising console gaming without a console. It shut down in January 2023. The tech mostly worked. The trust never did.
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Google Glass Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Google Glass?
Google Glass launched with a skydiving stunt and a $1,500 price in 2013, then became a punchline. Privacy got the blame, but the real problem was simpler.
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Vine Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Vine?
Vine claimed 200 million users and created the short-form video star. Twitter shut it down in 2016. Six seconds wasn't the problem. Losing creators was.
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Commodore Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Commodore?
Commodore sold millions of C64s, the best-selling single computer model ever, then went bankrupt in 1994. The Amiga was brilliant. So what went so wrong?
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Nokia Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Nokia's Phone Empire?
In 2007 Nokia sold about 40% of the world's phones. By 2013 it sold the whole business to Microsoft. Everyone blames the iPhone, but it wasn't that simple.
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Netscape Brand Autopsy: What Really Killed Netscape?
Netscape owned roughly 90% of the web in 1995 and sold to AOL for $4.2 billion in 1998. Microsoft gets the blame. The real killer was much closer to home.
Read the autopsy →Also see: Marketing Case Studies and Marketing Frameworks.