Horses for courses - an exercise in brand devaluation?

The multiple horse-joke reaction to the burger-meat scandal has tended to obscure the real issues involved:
- patently, it is no laughing matter, especially for the most important stakeholders, the consumers...
- brand integrity, the fundamental reassurance that allows consumers to avoid the need to personally check the contents of the tin before purchase, has been seriously compromised...
- market segmentation, the process of tailoring a brand to consumer taste is about informed modification of ingredients, not the misleading of the consumer via artificially low price-points...

Anyone in any doubt as to the extent of the damage need only walk the aisles, and observe the focus on white meats, the subtle references to local sourcing of red meat ingredients, and the reduced uptake in the burger section.....

....and these are still early days, while retailers are exploring alternative arrangements.

Essentially, this all goes back to a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of branding, and an under-estimation of consumer sophistication in terms of their ability to evaluate what they are getting for the money. Given that much of the brand experience is 'enjoyed' in the home, a disappointed consumer may not choose to articulate their dissatisfaction at point of purchase, but simply switch brands, or even worse, shop elsewhere, pausing only to tell their friends on the way....

If we accept that these savvy consumers are very capable of picking up subtle content-downgrades, then it calls into question the ingredient-answer to a perpetual freeze on price increases, a 'secret' compromise of quality.  The use of horse meat or indeed any other 'filler' is but one example of how an obsession with cost control can compromise brand equity, be it supplier or retailer...

Moreover, as any experienced brand owner knows, consumer praise operates on 1:10 odds, while criticism is given 10:1 every time a brand disappoints...

Finally, should anyone be left with an impression that this is simply about meat...it might be borne in mind that any reduction in pack size or amount of ingredients is in danger of straying onto the same consumer-disillusionment territory...

The issue is hard-won, easily lost brand integrity, whatever the odds...