Multiplying the ways in which consumers can interact with your brand is often quite the challenge.
It usually requires companies to branch outside of their comfort zones, much like an oral hygiene business diving into the world of frozen foods.
So we at Bored Panda decided it would be interesting to take a look at the times when big names announced products they weren't really known for.
After all, he who never takes risks doesn't get to drink champagne, right?
This post may include affiliate links.
Audi Is Dog Friendly. My Car Came Back From The Service With These Dog Toys On The Back Seat. Both Of My Labrador Retrievers Went Nuts
My McDonald's Themed Deck Of Cards Has The Queen Holding The Burger, So There Wouldn’t Be A Burger King
But the deck is probably missing 4 cards, since they wouldn't want to include a jack in the box
It's easy to understand why companies decide to diversify. 65% of CEOs of large companies around the world predict that in five to seven years, their firms' main competitors would be different from their main competitors today, and 63% say that new competitors with new business models would pose a major threat to their firms' core business.
The CEOs estimate that in the next decade, 40% of the value their companies created would come from entering new markets and launching new business models. Clearly, the business landscape feels highly unstable to them, which is no surprise given that new technologies continue to upend industries and wipe out businesses at a remarkable rate.
My Dad Owns A Working 40-Year-Old Mitsubishi Sharpener And You Can Adjust The Sharpness Of A Pencil
Mitsubishi is one of the old Japanese mega corps called zaibatsu. They have since been broken up into smaller companies and that's why you can find anything from Mitsubishi cars and banks to nuclear power plants and, indeed, pencil sharpeners. Fun fact: Mitsubishi means "Three diamonds", so now you know where the logo comes from.
Subaru Branded Honey From My Local Dealership. Harvested From Their Rooftop
Just Bought A Porsche Today, And They Gave Us Paper Clips Shaped Like Porsches
The good news to them is that now is a great time for companies to try to build new engines of profitable growth.
One study estimated that global investment capital had tripled in the past three decades and stood at 10 times the global GDP.
Additionally, high-growth industries today don't require as much investment as they once did; disruptive businesses can scale up faster in size and power with less capital.
When You Order A Knife Directly From Fällkniven They Also Send You These Branded Band-Aids With Your Package
I Was Cleaning Out An Old Apartment And Found A 1982 Coca-Cola Screwdriver Set
This Was In An NHS Hospital In The UK. They Have A Toy MRI Machine In The Hospital Waiting Room
seems like a good idea to help children who are scared of an MRI machine get over their fear
However, experts point out that diversification is an unpredictable, high-stakes game. First of all, companies usually face the decision in an atmosphere not conducive to thoughtful deliberation.
For instance, an attractive company comes into play, and a competitor is interested in buying it. Or the board of directors strongly urge expanding into new markets. Suddenly, senior managers must gather mountains of data—including internal rate-of-return calculations, market forecasts, and competitive assessments—under huge time pressure.
Diversification as a corporate strategy goes in and out of vogue on a regular basis. Simply put, there is little conventional wisdom to guide managers as they consider a move that could greatly increase shareholder value or seriously damage it.
This Luxurious Watch
USB Power Bank Disguised As A Mini Generator
This Turkish Muslim Girl Working At McDonald's Has A McDonald's Branded Hijab (Istanbul, Turkey)
My Neighbours Also Park Their Lamborghini In Their Front Yard
Before diversifying, businessmen must think not about what their company does but about what it does better than its competitors.
Consider the history of Blue Circle Industries, a British company that is one of the world's leading cement producers.
In the 1980s, Blue Circle decided to diversify on the basis of an unclear definition of its business. It was, the company’s managers thought, in the business of making products related to home building. So Blue Circle expanded into real estate, bricks, waste management, gas stoves, bath-tubs—even lawn mowers.
Twix Seasoning For Popcorn, Ice Cream, Cookie Dough And More
This Radio I Found In My Attic Is Built To Resemble A Coca Cola Vending Machine
McDonald's Made A Fry Radio In The '80s And My Dad Gave Me His
Found This Old Volvo Cap Where The Strap Is A Seatbelt
According to one retired executive, “Our move into lawn mowers was based on the logic that you need a lawn mower for your garden—which, after all, is next to your house.”
As you might've guessed, few of Blue Circle’s diversification forays proved successful.
The Ketchup And Mayonnaise Packets I Got From A Restaurant With My Food Are The Opposite Brands Off What I Would Consider Their Specially
Heinz made the mayo and Hellmann's made the ketchup.
Dodgeball At Dodge Car Dealership
Fried Chicken Scented Fire Log
Dad Still Uses The Coleman-Made, Marlboro-Branded, 12V Car Refrigerator He Got From A '90s Marlboro Catalog
Diversification will remain a tough task, and managers must study their cards carefully. It takes smart players to know when it’s best to place their bets and when it’s best to fold.
But, as we can see from the pictures, they're still gambling.
If You Thought That The Perfect Soap Doesn't Exist, Here's For You
Volkswagen (VW) Is The Largest Producer Of A Particular Type Of Sausage (Currywurst) In Germany
Colgate Beef Lasagna
The Michelin Tire Company Is The Same Michelin That Issues Michelin Stars To Restaurants And Hotels
IIRC it's because they started producing travel guides for people on driving holidays.
IKEA Is Now Selling Hats Made Out Of IKEA Bags
I Got KFC Socks With My Delivery Order
LEGO Brick Shoe Box
This Hairdryer With A Ferrari Motor
I'll Wear This To The Next Wedding
Dr. Pepper, I Think You Went Too Far This Time
Dr. Pepper Scented Tissues
Big Mac Shower Gel (Courtesy Of Austrian McDonald's)
Hello Kitty Pasta Sauce Anyone?
There's a reason why that brand is in second place of the highest-grossing media franchises.
Wife Asked For A Car For Her Birthday And I Promised Her That While I Was Drunk. So, Here It Is - I Bought Her A Toyota Car
Guinness - The Famous Brand Of Beer And "The Book Of Records"
I feel like a lot of world record attempts started with the words "hold my beer"
Samsung Runs A Fashion Store In South Korea
I accidentally read the headline as "Samsung RUINS a fashion store ...." LOL
Strawberry Mentos Bath Bombs
Samsung Made The Barbells At My Gym
Louis Vuitton Fire Extinguishers. To Fight Fire With Style
Does not conform to international standard of color designation....
eCDP, A Nintendo DS Game Designed Specifically For The Training Of New McDonalds Staff In Japan
Copies of the game and the McDonald’s branded DS are extremely rare today.
videogames are probably a pretty effective way of training employees if you think about it
McDonald's Gave Away This Speaker To My Brother Who Works There
A Rolls-Royce Ice Cream Truck
I Ordered An Oil Filter For My Car And It Came With Mercedes Perfume
Louis Vuitton Pencil Holder For 900$
Saw a review of these pencils, apparently the pencils themselves are basically the same as the dollar store ones.
The Elevator At My Rome Airbnb Is A Ferrari
Mercedes-Benz Sweets Look Like Little Car Parts
but can you assemble them into a miniature car? If not, I'm very disappointed.
I Found This 1985 Harley-Davidson Beer Can In My Grandpa’s Office. It’s Still Full And Unopened
Mid-1980s Peugeot Pepper Mill
Mitsubishi Sewing Machine
They still make a ton of home appliances to this day. They're also a major bank and trading corporation.
My Traditional Tattoo Zippo With Bonus Zippo Fragrance
Pringles Ramen
That's sour cream and onion flavoured yakisoba, made similarly to cup ramen but you drain the water out first through a filter built into the paper lid. It came out not too long ago in Japan and it was prettttty bad.
My School Has An M&M Branded Ball In The Shape Of An M&M
This Nissan Pepper Grinder
Peugeot started as a pepper grinder manufacturer, and they still make some of the best and most reliable ones to this day. EDIT: There is one posted in this thread, hadn't seen it before posting.
Dunkin’ Donuts Beer
What If Soap Tasted Like Cilantro?
A Ferrari Cellphone
These Nissan Candies I Found In Denmark
Official Heinz Shirt That Has A Fake Ketchup Stain On It
What's A Better Way To Light Up Your Nights Than With A Limited Edition KFC Scented Candle
A terrible idea for anyone who has a cat or dog. I can imagine the house going up in flames when the pet knocks over the candle while trying to find the chicken
Apparently, Ferrari Made The Hinges On My Kitchen Cabinets
Subaru Brand Lip Balm
Cheetos Lip Balm
Porsche Makes Dress Shoes Designed For The Gas And Brake Pedals
Except you are supposed to use the same foot for both gas, and break pedals, but one could be meant for the clutch pedal (in standard transmission vehicles)
I Don't Know Where They Came From But My Son Has McDonald's Brand Pants
McKids was a chain of clothing stores marketed to children and operated by the McDonald's Corporation through a partnership with Sears. (Or at least that's what Wikipedia says.)
My School's Chairs Were Manufactured By PlayStation
So McDonald's Have Their Own Brand Of Sauces In Germany
This Mitsubishi Computer
Yoghurt Cosmopolitan
This About 40-Year-Old, And Still Working, Ford Build Washing Machine
Coca-Cola Brand Skirt
Subaru Sent Me A Branded Bose Mini Soundlink As A Thanks
i have a pair of bose headphones! they're really high-quality
This Water Cooler Was Manufactured By Hyundai (Car Producer)
The Duracell Power Bank Is Shaped And Branded Like Their Batteries
A Double A Battery Made By The Auto Manufacturer Ford
It’s Cold Outside, But In Here It’s Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Candle
Probably smells like a*s, but all of these are marketing ideas made in jest.
Flamin’ Hot Shine With A Vividly Cheesy Color
Hyundai Not Only Makes Cars But Shoes As Well
Found These Pencils Made By Mitsubishi
My Local Ford Dealership Gives Customers A Bottle Of Mustard With Every Purchase
Based on the tag line, I'm sure it's a lot more popular than their cheese.
Red Bull And Halls Collaborated To Make A Candy
Not Only Is It A Payphone, It's A McDonald's Branded Payphone (Waterville, ME)
My Bathroom Drawers Were Made By Ferrari
My Friend Who Is My Neighbor Still Has Toys R Us Branded Batteries
Fruit Loop Gummies
My Dad Got This BMW Water With His New Car
These Scissors Were Made By Bugatti, Who Makes Some Of The Most Powerful Cars On Earth
The Engine On My Plane This Morning Was Made By Rolls-Royce
Yea RR makes plane engines since WW2 mate, the Spitfire, the Lancaster, the American P40 Mustang and even a German bomber ( i forgot the model ) had RR engines
This Pizza Cutter That Was Given To My GF When She Bought A Car Years Ago. Seems Like An Odd Gift To Give When Selling A Car & Odder Way To Advertise Their Dealership
Do you like cars? Then you probably like pizza. Do you hate cars? Then you probably like pizza.
Lamborghini Cigarettes Straight From South Korea
Different companies, the cigarettes were distributed by a company started by the son after his dad sold the car company and retired.
Someone Drove A '70s Ford Tractor To Canadian Tire In The Middle Of The City
David Brown - as in the same guy whose initials are on Aston Martin (like James Bond's famous silver DB4 etc), also manufactured tractors and agricultural equipment.
This McDonald's Employee Is Wearing McDonald's Branded Jeans
This 1934 Rolls-Royce Book About How To Speak French. Very Prestigious
This 30-Year-Old Spoon And A Little Bottle I Bought Yesterday Are Made By The Same Brand Somehow
How About A Peugeot Watch I Picked Up 10 Years Ago
This Bugatti Faucet In A Tiny Village In Portugal
That's actually not a faucet, thats a Veyron injector lolol ( car people Will get the joke )
The Nose Piece On My BMW Glasses Popped Off, Revealing A Smaller BMW Logo
This IKEA Bracket Is Made By Ferrari
I'm very sleepy and I read "bracelet" at first and was extremely confused for about 15 seconds
Dove Beauty Bars And Dove Chocolates
Actually two different companies, despite the similar logo and the soap being so delicious
Found An Abandoned Mitsubishi TV, Thought They Only Made Cars
These Subaru Branded Glasses
Surprised I didn't see Yamaha here. Makers of fine motorcycles and musical instruments.
That's also what i wanna say，the logo of YAMAHA motorbike is actually three tuning forks.
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Many of the items above say, “This item was made by [Ford, Mitsubishi, etc.]. But the fact that a company’s brand is on an item doesn’t mean the item was *made by* that company; it just means that the company licensed the maker to put the company’s brand on the maker’s item. For instance, #99, Lamborghini cigarettes. Lamborghini doesn’t make cigarettes; they paid the cigarette manufacturer to put the name Lamborghini on the cigarettes or the cigarette manufacturer paid Lamborghini for same.
Lamborghini was a tractor and equipment manufacturer before it ever thought about building cars.
I've no idea if it's true, but the story goes that the founders of Lamborghini and Ferrari had an argument and Lamborghini makes cars, now.
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Surprised I didn't see Yamaha here. Makers of fine motorcycles and musical instruments.
That's also what i wanna say，the logo of YAMAHA motorbike is actually three tuning forks.
Load More Replies... Many of the items above say, “This item was made by [Ford, Mitsubishi, etc.]. But the fact that a company’s brand is on an item doesn’t mean the item was *made by* that company; it just means that the company licensed the maker to put the company’s brand on the maker’s item. For instance, #99, Lamborghini cigarettes. Lamborghini doesn’t make cigarettes; they paid the cigarette manufacturer to put the name Lamborghini on the cigarettes or the cigarette manufacturer paid Lamborghini for same.
Lamborghini was a tractor and equipment manufacturer before it ever thought about building cars.
I've no idea if it's true, but the story goes that the founders of Lamborghini and Ferrari had an argument and Lamborghini makes cars, now.
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