Apple, Uber, and Google. Billions of people know and use these products every day. In fact, they have revolutionized the way we interact with the world around us. If you’re an entrepreneur, you may aspire to reach this level of notoriety – but, only a handful of companies will achieve this every decade. Fortunately, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to become a consumer staple.
Whether we realize it or not, hundreds of brands have slipped into our vernacular. When you need to clean your mirror, what do you grab? Most likely, you said Windex and not glass cleaner. If your lips are dry, what do you apply to moisturize them? Did you say Chapstick, the American-based lip balm brand? There are plenty of examples of this, from Band-Aids to Advil to Sharpies.
So, how does a brand transcend from idea to icon? It may surprise you, but it means more than just making a great product.
How to build an iconic brand
Relevance is how companies integrate with our culture, and to achieve that, you need people. Look at the Kardashians; anything they touch immediately sells out. Even luxury brands like Hermès didn’t rise to fame (in American culture at least) until it was seen on the arms of Jackie Kennedy.
The first step to building a brand image is people – the right ones. Companies should be picky with who they work with, and these people should align with what the brand aspires to be. Brand image can certainly go south if the people don’t fit. We’ve seen examples of this in the past, like when Hertz and OJ Simpson’s relationship turned sour.
The rental company first began working with OJ in 1975. Hertz was looking for new ways to attract customers and wanted to find a way to promote their “speedy” service. OJ, who was a star running back for the Buffalo Bills at the time, seemed like the perfect fit.
The first five years of the Hertz-O.J. relationship were incredibly beneficial for the company. However, Hertz continued to use Simpson long past the point many companies would have switched gears. By the time O.J. was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, Hertz had already established a culturally-known marriage between the two.
The same year the jury was sworn in for Simpson’s murder trial case, Enterprise became the new #1 rental company by fleet size and offices. Point is, if you’re going into business with someone, make sure they align with your brand values.
Using Emotions
The next step to building an iconic brand is making it something to be sought after. This can naturally occur as a result of working with the right people, too. If it’s good enough for Kylie Jenner, it’s good enough for me, right? Jokes aside, people need to want your brand. To do this, you have to consider the brand journey.
In short, the brand journey is all about how the customer feels from start to finish. What comes to mind when they first see your business? What’s the process like buying or using your service? What does the experience look like? And most importantly, how do they feel after?
Think Starbucks. When you imagine the brand, you can see the cup and green straw, or maybe you remember the smell of the freshly brewed coffee. Perhaps you are reminded of how easy it was to take a five-minute detour through the drive-thru on the way to work. The best part, after all is said and done, you feel more productive at your job – and in a better mood from your morning ritual.
Humans are reactive beings and make decisions based on emotion. I am no wiser to this either; many of my investments have been rooted in my personal experience with the brands. Nestlé, for example, I invested in because I use their instant espresso daily.
There’s also a flip side to this coin. Emotions can deter us from partaking in something. Nobody will want to purchase a brand that makes them annoyed or inconvenienced. By recognizing our psychology, brands can play into these feelings and cultivate a stronger, more desired image.
Master and expand
Do one thing, and do it exceptionally well. Some businesses are afraid to limit themselves to one category because it can feel like they are closing themselves off to new audiences. In actuality, what they are really doing is making it harder on themselves. It’s difficult to be a jack of all trades and build an iconic image around that.
Let’s take In-N-Out, for example. They’ve been doing the same thing for over 70 years and have only grown from it! They weren’t the first to invent the burger, nor will they be the last to make them, yet still, people line up for their products daily.
Why? Because they’ve mastered it and consistently get it right. As a consumer, you know that no matter which In-N-Out you drive to, you’ll get the same quality food.
The second part of this is the vision to scale. Another reason for my fascination with Starbucks (other than being from my home state of Washington) was their dream to expand. They knew they wanted a Starbucks on every corner, and now there is practically double that. Of course, not every brand will want to reach this scale. But, if you are trying to build a culturally-recognized product or service it’s a must.
What we can learn from luxury brands
We cannot talk about branding power without mentioning luxury goods. Even every day, cost-friendly brands can learn something from them.
If there is one thing that designed brands excel at, it is defining who they are. That’s because luxury brands cannot make a half attempt to classify themselves as high-end. Any feeble attempts to do so make them look overpriced or tacky. Instead, they have to position themselves as luxurious and stick to it.
Louis Vuitton, for example, there’s power in saying the name alone. At the end of the day, they are just bags – but that’s not how they portray themselves. When they were founded, it came with a brand promise of quality and craftsmanship. Almost two centuries later, that same quality and artistry still stand.
Louis Vuitton is also a stellar example of getting in front of the right people. What really solidified their image was being noticed by French emperor Napoleon III and being tasked with making the emperor’s wife a handbag. This shot the company to notoriety, which has been consistently maintained since.
But why is this? We’ve seen hundreds of brands rise and fall. What makes Louis Vuitton any different?
To put it simply, they understand the winning formula and use it. Regardless of industry, there are a few steps any brand can take that will help ensure its success.
The winning formula
First, define yourself. Who are you, who are you serving, what are you selling, and how are you going to sell it? Most importantly, how do you want your customers to feel?
Next, stick to these values. Going back to Louis Vuitton, they’ve positioned themselves as a luxury designer and kept this original promise. They’ve never had a sale, and they are exclusively sold at LV stores.
Attention to detail is also important to note here. Details are checkpoints where consumers subconsciously assess whether your brand lives up to the promise or not. With Louis Vuitton, the quality and exclusivity match their position. Similarly, they’ve aligned themselves with the elite, as seen in the example with the emperor’s wife.
LV is also a great example of the next piece: master one thing. Before moving on to other categories like clothing, Louis Vuitton mastered handbags and trunks. When you purchase one of these, you know the quality to expect because it is consistently there.
And lastly, what really separates LV from other luxury brands is the desire to scale. Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, also called LVMH, continues to expand each year. The conglomerate currently controls around 75 prestigious brands from Christian Dior to Fendi to Sephora and more.
The winning formula can be applied to anything – we’ve seen this strategy used on ultra-exclusive designer goods all the way to 99-cent lip balms. Whatever it is you want to sell, it has the potential to be iconic – depending on how you do it.
