Established markets often spell legacy brands under attack from all sides by challengers. The opportunity for brands – whether traditional or newcomer – is to disrupt, and stay out of the sea of sameness, writes Mike Foster, Founder and Strategic Creative Director, Straight Forward Design.
In shifting markets, legacy brands often have an ever-decreasing window of opportunity before smart new challengers slide it shut on their fingers. With nowhere to hide; the old guard can no longer trade on brand nostalgia, default consideration sets, or a slew of price cuts and promotions. If they want consumers to fall in love with them again, they must invest in brand strategy to survive the paradigm shift.
The initial task is to get into the consideration set as part of the consumer shortlist. That requires awareness and relevance: consumers must first know the brand exists and believe it can meet their needs. Once in the consideration set, factors like price, quality, features, and brand connection dictate choice, before distinctiveness comes into play: the brand must offer something superior to competitors, like an innovative feature, or strong emotional appeal. Finally, the ease with which a consumer can purchase the product affects its chances of being selected from the consideration set.
What triggers brand love?
So, how can brands defend against disruptive market changes? Even for items that might seem unchangeable, or mired in a commoditised category, skilled use of brand strategy can introduce a new way of looking at something.
Triggering a tidal wave of brand love that leads to a level of obsession barely ever seen among the ubiquitous and mundane has proven a lifeline for Crocs and Stanley.
For both, celebrity endorsements played their part, with the former launching collaborations with celebrities like Post Malone, and embracing social-media notoriety. Meanwhile the latter’s Stanley Cup was featured by country musician Lainey Wilson, who produced a pink-and-green Watermelon Moonshine Quencher, named after one of her songs. It sold out in eleven minutes.
For Lexus, Beyoncé’s number one smash hit ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, which references the brand (“So park your Lexus (woo) and throw your keys up (hey)”), was a lifebuoy in lyrical form. It inspired the brand to sponsor Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour, and to a create custom LC 500 car, symbolising the brand’s commitment to supporting the BeyGood Foundation and its Black Parade Route initiative.
As part of this partnership, the brand also crafted a unique seatbelt buckle, given away to the biggest Beyoncé fan to participate in the ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’’ TikTok challenge.
But celebrity and influencer hook-ups are often costly, and always unpredictable. This is where brand design and strategy come in, as clear differentiators. Clever interventions to the brand experience, added in a more deliberate and strategic manner, delivers an interesting twist that challenges consumer thinking and expectations.
Swim ahead of the commodified
Like the automotive category, household cleaning had for decades been dominated by brands that looked and sounded alike: same messaging, same product benefits, same designs, same claims. There was zero brand differentiation or distinctiveness. Switch the logos, and consumers would be none the wiser as to which was which.
Then Method came along. It disrupted consumer convictions, breaking through established consideration sets.
Launched in 2001 by two former roommates, Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, the brand focused on an eco-conscious cleaning product that consumers loved and understood, in packaging they didn’t need to hide under their sinks. It faced constant battles, because whenever Method discovered a new element of success, competitor brands would swoop in to copy, dragging it back into the sea of sameness.
In the long run, the Method brand carved out its shelf-space with distinctive products such as its teardrop-shaped handwash; and was snapped up by SC Johnson in 2017. A rising tide had spurred Method to swim ahead of the market, creating distinctive products along the way.
Avoiding the sea of sameness
In the UK and Europe, car manufacturers have focused on talking to audiences about driving experience, but in China it’s long been about the tech offered by the vehicle. Chinese electric car brands including Ora, BYD, and Lynk & Co have drawn consumers in with product differentiators like follow-me-drones that film the car while tracking it, or cars that convert the whole front seat into a bed.
Higher-end EVs are offering brand distinction as standard, while at the lower end, prices of less than £10k, and branding built into end-to-end CX, will carry them through. These cars are no longer just a means of getting from A to B; they’re like an iPhone on wheels, full of cool new apps that make the consumer fall in love with what it can do.
Just like Apple, legacy and challenger brands alike must use differentiation to maintain stand-out and audience connection by offering innovation such as advanced technology, unique design, eco-friendliness, or new business models (like subscription services).
Surviving a shifting market means taking ownership of every part of the brand, from design innovation to advertising and customer service, to call centres, and direct experiences. Ultimately, brands must create salience along the entire customer journey to drive growth, retention, and loyalty.
