While I can’t vouch for the accuracy of their predictions, the article served as a good reminder that businesses are constantly evolving. No doubt some of these names will disappear through mergers, bankruptcy or simply because the market has found new and better ways to provide what they offer. For example, Readers Digest was the original aggregator of stories and articles from different sources, a function now performed by a multitude of websites, RSS feeds and the like. On the other hand, the BP brand may disappear through bankruptcy, but that will more likely be a financial maneuver to protect assets in the wake of the Gulf oil spill rather than a discontinuation of the company’s main business.
Interestingly, the article also named some of the brands from previous lists that 24/7 Wall St. expected to disappear, but that are still around. One of these is Motorola, a proud and long-standing brand headquartered in the Chicago area. While Motorola has had its share of missteps in recent years, particularly in the fickle consumer mobile phone business, it seems positioned to survive by splitting the company into two parts: a consumer business focused on mobile phones and accessories, and a B2B segment concentrating on a variety of communications solutions, such as police and fire radio networks.
What’s es
pecially notable about Motorola’s current re-invention of its business is that this isn’t the first time it’s gone through this sort of seismic shift. The company, started in 1928 by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, originally manufactured battery eliminators. These electronic devices enabled battery-powered home radios to operate on household electric current. But the 1929 stock market crash devastated the U.S. economy and the battery eliminator was becoming obsolete.Needing a new product for their small business to survive, the Galvins partnered with a radio parts company located in the same factory and began experimenting with a radio that could be installed in automobiles. Overcoming a variety of technical hurdles, the team completed a working model just days before the Radio Manufacturers Association Convention in June 1930.
Even though Galvin wasn’t registered for the show, didn’t have a display booth or any appointments with prospective customers, he drove his Studebaker from Chicago to Atlantic City to demonstrate the new radio. In what may be one of the first examples of guerilla marketing, Galvin parked his car at the entrance to the Atlantic City pier and boosted the radio's volume with loudspeakers to attract attention. He encouraged show attendees to take a look, and when visitor traffic was slow, he went inside the hall to convince people to come outside for a demonstration. Galvin returned to Chicago with enough orders to ensure that the company would not only survive, but eventually change its name to Motorola and become one of the largest companies in America.
The lesson in all this is that companies with a good idea and a willingness to adapt can avoid extinction. But it takes perseverance and a dose of smart marketing.
