Reebok, Pepsi and Saab are hence considered identity brands, meaning that
their use contributes significantly to their consumers’ self-expression. John
Wayne, J.F.K. and Bruce Springsteen are considered cultural icons serving as
exemplary and powerful symbols to a majority of people. And Apple, Nike and
Harley are representatives of the brand icons: the few brands approaching the
identity value of the cultural icons.
Having established what a brand icon is, we now turn to the mechanisms behind the
rise to iconic status. The empirical studies behind the cultural branding model establish
that the rise to icon status happens mainly through advertising and can be aided by
cultural industries (via product placement) and populist worlds (via viral branding):
Identity brands must be very good at product quality, distribution, promotion,
pricing, and customer service. But these attributes are simply the ante that
marketers must pony up to be competitive. They aren’t drivers of business
success. Identity brands live or die on the quality of their communications.
(Holt 2004, p. 225)What makes the communications of the iconic brands stand out are four common
denominators:
- Target a cultural contradiction.The iconic brands have been able to target
cultural contradictions in society and perform a powerful myth to accommodate
the tensions: ‘Cultural branding works when the brand’s stories connect power-
fully with particular contradictions in American society’ (Holt 2004, p. 224). - Act as a cultural activist.Aspiring to the identity value of a cultural icon, radical
action needs to be taken: ‘Icons act as cultural leaders, as activists encouraging
people to think and act differently through their stories’ (Holt 2003). - Create original expressive culture as an artist.Also, when it comes to
aesthetics, the brand must lead the way and not just follow trends. The brand
icons have managed to provide their own unique visual expression and thereby
have provided consumers with something entirely new and original. - Develop an authentic populist voice.A brand must be perceived as a credible
representative of a ‘populist epicentre’ (a non-commercial place; e.g.
subculture, folk culture or a social movement) which is where new non-
commercial culture is being created. The brand must display a deep under-
standing of the point of view it represents.
218 Seven brand approaches
Box 10.2 How Snapple became an iconic brand
In 1972 healthy fruit drink brand Snapple saw the light of day in Brooklyn.
In 1993 Snapple’s sales had climbed to an annual $516 million and the
company was bought by Quaker Oats for $1.7 billion. The marketing
strategy behind the huge financial success encompassed four steps: