• Ad Age, Tuesday, February 7, 2006 12 PM

Brand extensions can be deceiving for marketers. On the one hand, they appear to be the quick and simple way to ease the constant pressure for growth. After all, they are built on established brand equity and the infrastructure for production and distribution are already, for the most part, in place. But everyone knows that looks can be deceiving, and in this comprehensive look at the perils of brand extension Clayton M. Christensen, Scott Cook, and Taddy Hall examine common mistakes marketers make when launching brand extensions. They point out that not only are most extensions failures in their own right, but they often end up damaging the original "golden goose." The authors point out that marketers often make key, but avoidable, mistakes when extending a brand, and among the biggest is mistaking a marketplace "void" for a customer "need."

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