When Solving “Mystery” Was the Strategy

Lessons from a $5 billion brand that forgot what made it great.

Note: This was a full-time role prior to founding Full Speed Consulting but it helped shape my experience and approach.

RadioShack. Today, it’s a forgotten business that exists mostly in our memories. But for decades, RadioShack thrived by solving technology mysteries. When a piece of technology was new, complex, and just a little bit intimidating, shoppers needed a guide—someone to explain how to install a satellite dish or get started with their first home computer. In the early days of cell phones, they were not only bulky but also confusing and mysterious. The same applied to satellite radio a few years later.

My Vice President often called us “the dammit store”—as in, consumers would say, “Dammit, I need a doohickey to connect these things!” Only RadioShack was the trusted expert to help them make it happen. As the tagline went: “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.” Walk into the store with a problem or a question, and you’d walk out with a solution—including a sketched-out diagram and a small bag of all the necessary parts and connectors.

Where it all went wrong

But over time, technology evolved—and RadioShack didn’t evolve with it. That’s where my journey began.  Before the death spiral, RadioShack was a $5 billion business with 7,000 stores.  A few of the company leaders had the foresight to see that changes were necessary; my boss told me, “We have a 75-year-old brand that we have not only never managed, but we’ve often abused” so I was hired to “bring brand management to RadioShack.”  After sharpening my brand management skills as a Brand Manager at PepsiCo, I relished the challenge.  As I said in another of my blog posts, I wanted to work on a large turnaround to “build the diversity of background and experience.”    

From 2005 to 2008, I served as Senior Director of Marketing Strategy, Global Brand Management & Advertising at RadioShack Corporation, headquartered in my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Tasked with overseeing the RadioShack brand identity, positioning, and global private label portfolio, I had a front-row seat to a historic brand at a pivotal crossroads.

By the time I joined RadioShack, the company had drifted from its roots. Instead of leaning into new and emerging technologies—the mysterious frontiers consumers still needed help navigating—RadioShack was doubling down on familiar tech like flatscreen TVs and wireless phones. While there was nothing inherently wrong with these categories, they were familiar and did NOT require guidance or expertise from the store experts. The brand’s value proposition—trusted tech advisor—no longer matched its merchandise mix.

Even though this was almost 20 years ago, the RadioShack gurus had a strong plan to move into home automation, all managed through your computer; importantly, we also knew that “smart phones” were coming and we could lean into that as a way to control key elements in your home wherever you were.  Today, many of us have smart thermostats, pet cameras, and more.  Much of the mystery of this category may have evaporated by now.  But in 2006, this would have been revolutionary and reignited RadioShack store traffic and sales. 

Instead, RadioShack made a big bet on flatscreen TVs and fought to hold onto their wireless phone business even as thousands of carrier stores were popping up all over the country.  There was no more mystery to televisions or wireless phones; they were available almost anywhere, usually at lower prices than RadioShack could offer.  I remember telling one of our merchandise VPs that “Best Buy’s TV section is bigger than our whole store…we can’t win on selection…and Costco/Sam’s Club has the lowest prices in the country…we can’t win on price…”  TVs was not the way for RadioShack to regain the path to relevance.  We needed to lean back into bringing solutions to mysterious technology.

Comeback plan: Find the magic and reignite the brand

Recognizing this disconnect, there were a number of us passionately working to refocus the brand on delivering technology solutions, not just familiar products. We redefined RadioShack’s Brand Promise, aligning it with core consumer insights: people still craved help making their tech work together, even if they no longer needed help setting up a wireless phone or TV.  The consumer research was STRONG - the repositioning resulted in a 6% increase in brand awareness and perception, impressive for a well-established 75-year-old retailer. 

With a reimagined brand in place, the team and I developed a comprehensive Marketing Strategic Plan for our robust $150M marketing budget. We launched a fully integrated campaign spanning TV, radio, and print. The campaign worked - we doubled RadioShack’s ranking as the most preferred brand for consumer electronics in little more than a year.  The strategy was working. 

So what the heck happened?  RadioShack is now gone!

Despite the sound strategy, great team, and successful campaign, there wasn’t alignment at the top.  While we were working tirelessly to refocus the brand and reignite profitable growth, senior leadership was focused on cost-cutting and chasing “easy sales” through margin-eroding price cuts.  The company also dragged its feet on exiting stale, undifferentiated categories, instead of embracing new, evolving tech.

The beginning of the end came with a short-sighted decision to change the compensation structure for store associates. RadioShack’s greatest strength had always been its knowledgeable, solutions-oriented team—this was confirmed by our brand health tracker and was central to our entire repositioning.  Without those knowledgeable salespeople, RadioShack no longer had a platform to rebuild the business.

Several of us made a last-minute pitch to preserve the associate compensation and continue the brand turnaround.  We were told, “You don’t understand the value of saving $10 million.”  I brazenly responded, “We may save $10 million a year, but it will destroy a $5 billion business.”  As you might expect, that wasn’t well received. The company stayed the course. That meeting took place on February 18, 2008. As we walked out, a coworker quietly said, “Today is the day that RadioShack died.”

Important lessons

What I learned at RadioShack remains highly relevant for today’s business leaders:

• Find your magic. RadioShack’s historic success was based on helping consumers solve “mysterious” technology.  That foundation was built on the knowledgeable store associates who brought the brand promise to life for decades.  The key to long-term success was finding that magic and building on it. 

• Alignment at the top is non-negotiable.  Great marketing only works when it’s aligned with overall company strategy—and everyone, including senior leadership, is rowing in the same direction.

• Brands and brains are your most valuable assets.  Neglect or abuse them at your own peril…in RadioShack’s case, it led to the destruction of a $5 billion business. 

While I’m saddened that RadioShack no longer exists, I’m grateful for my time there. I worked with a fantastic group of people who fought valiantly to save the brand—and I still stay in touch with many of them today.  We often highlight our successes when reflecting on our careers. But some of the most valuable lessons come from the losses. Though we didn’t succeed in turning around RadioShack, I gained priceless insights, honed critical skills, and learned how to fight for what matters.