Industry News: Brand heritage & Interbrand’s 100 Best Brands index

Brand Heritage – a thing of the past?

In the past, the longevity of a business’ existence was a telltale sign of the quality and worth of its goods or services. Fast-forward to today where many leading brands haven’t been around for generations and yet are dominating the market.

Some of today’s leading brands were only created within the last decade but have as strong, if not a more loyal, following than many of those established over a century ago. Uber, Amazon and PayPal are all top brands that were created in the last 20 years, yet are used daily by millions of consumers.

Brands that previously relied on their heritage to bring in the customers now have to keep up with the times and explore different ways of attracting new business.

Some brands however are still using heritage to their advantage, although are now marketing it in a new, contemporary way. For example, Jack Daniels is still embracing its deep-rooted legacy but doing so by playing on concepts such as independence and freedom – a key motivator for many millennials. This is a smart take on using its unique heritage as a selling point without losing its relevance in this constantly evolving market.

Today it seems that paramount to attracting consumers is showing them how well a product can fulfil their own needs. Brands need to take this into consideration when marketing new products – market how you can satisfy the consumer need, not just why your brand is so great.

Find out more at: http://adage.com/article/agency-viewpoint/brandheritage/300726/

Interbrand’s 100 Best Brands index: tech giants lead the way

Apple, Google, Microsoft and IBM – these leading technology companies unsurprisingly comprise 4 of the top 5 spots on Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands rankings (with Coca-Cola at number 3).

The index, which is calculated by looking at financial performance, the brand’s influence on customers and the ability of the brand to increase company value, clearly highlights the need for companies to think even more globally when it comes to dominating the marketplace, and the perils facing those that choose too static a strategy.

The leading brands appear to share a specific quality – they are not restricting themselves to one sector, but are looking at new ways to target consumers across various industries. No better example can be Apple’s foray into the fashion industry, as it ventures now into wearable technology.

See the full 100 rankings at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2015/ranking/

Read more at: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1367107/apple-google-top-interbrands-valuable-brands-indexecosystems-win

Originally published in BrandWrites 5th Edition