Each day we are presented with new products that enter the market. From billboard commercials in the streets to advertisements while scrolling into Instagram, we are constantly flooded with products that are designed for us. Millions of dollars are spent on designing and launching those products in hopes to meet our preferences. All businesses want to achieve the ability to create an iconic brand, but did you know that only 1 in 10 proves to achieve this goal? So, what makes our product and brand iconic? Let’s have a look at some ingredients that we will need to implement into our product.
Stories and values: a recipe for success
Setting up a product that works, as trivial as it may sound, is the first step towards having an iconic one. But what does it take to achieve this status? Most of the time those who succeed are correctly implementing and mastering the art of storytelling.
Brand storytelling is a strategy used in brand marketing to increase brand awareness. As the word itself suggests, brand storytelling is the act of telling a story of your product or brand to capture the consumer’s interest. Besides telling stories, this tool serves in evoking emotions and feelings in the customer to establish a deep relationship, which can then result in growth in the audience. People form strong bonds with iconic brands based on the company’s purpose and its ability to generate affinity with its target audience.
What is affinity? Brand affinity deals with feelings and emotions. They are the driving force that makes people choose this or that brand. Fans of Apple explain their affinity to the company the same way. They share the same values as Apple does and enjoy the feelings they have when using their products. This emotional connection is very strong and provides additional reasons to remain this brand’s client. In this case, customers won’t change their product preferences even if the price increases.
Apple’s campaign “Creativity goes on” is a perfect example of the connection that this brand can create. The tech giant brought us this digital story in April 2020, just as COVID had started to turn our world upside down. The ad showed the many creative ways people could still connect and support each other through these unprecedented times, with Apple tech providing the link.
Moreover, these brands tend to leverage on:
- Their cultural background: brands and products are made from people, and these people have their own stories and cultures behind them. These stories most of the time are infused in the brand culture, appealing to customers that share those same values. Successful brands know how to properly engage with societal values.
- Brand culture is also related to brand identity and image. They are designed to resonate with the clients and support the company story. In addition, brands look for distinctiveness and stand out from the crowd to be always easy to find.
- Story and vision: vision is the steering wheel of your business. It is what your company aspires to be and what they want to achieve. Successful brands usually tend to stay true to their stories and value throughout the years as, in the long run, this contributes to creating the myth.
All this leverage is done to make the brand top inside the customer’s mind. To sum it up, to achieve the iconic status brands have to continuously look for being one of a kind, stand for something, and always engage connections to build better relationships with their customers.
Achieve an impact: What is an Iconic design?
Usually, an iconic design is ‘groundbreaking’ and sets new standards in its field. It is a design that other designers and manufacturers follow, as it becomes a benchmark for other similar products. Furthermore, an iconic design stands up to the test of time, remaining a good design, despite the passing of years, decades, and even centuries.
Think about Sony’s iconic Walkman. Sony’s then-chairman Akio Morita believed that young people wanted to listen to their music all day long.
When the Walkman was released it changed lives. It made it simple for people to quickly switch between songs and listen to the tracks they cared about most. And with two headphone jacks in the device, also meant that they could share their musical tastes with their friends or loved ones.
Walkman’s success was a mix of strategic moves adopted by Sony, starting from building a brand that people could trust, always keeping in mind, and understanding people’s needs. Indeed Sony was also able to evolve throughout the years which is crucial in an ever-changing world until new technologies came along. Even if now the Walkman is obsolete for this time, it still is an everlasting icon that many nostalgic fans are using today.
On the other hand, we have another example of an iconic product: The world-famous Birkin by Hermès. The myth surrounding this bag is monumental. Although, differently from the Walkman, the iconic status is reached through different drivers. Most women were introduced to the bag in the arms of glamorous celebrities which left an indelible impression on the viewer (think about Victoria Beckham who is rumored to own 100 Birkins).
Secondly, the bag is backed by the Hermès name, which has stood for the highest quality in leather goods since 1837. Lastly, there is an air of exclusivity and mythology that surrounds the bag. From how it was created especially for Jane Birkin on an Air France flight, to its rarity and difficulty to be purchased.
The Birkin has enjoyed exalted icon status for so long because it is timeless; it never bends to trends. These elements have secured the beloved bag’s prime position in fashion history of the most iconic bag of all time.
Iconic products’ intrinsic value and how to preserve it
These are just a couple of examples of two different brands that successfully achieved the product icon status besides being very different.
But how do we make sure these products will hold their value through time?
Especially after the Covid-19 outbreak, there has been a rebound in iconic product requests. Shoppers are still wary of health matters as the pandemic has entered a dangerous new phase and purchases are focused on the essentials, not the “nice to have.”
This trend can be explained by people’s need to know that they are buying a timeless product that will continue to hold its value even in situations of market uncertainty.
Of course, uniqueness is always a diver, but there has been a shift to a “buy less, buy better” attitude, and to guarantee the “buy better” products have to be certified.
To solve this, new platforms are arising to hold up that value with the use of technology. MyLime is one of those platforms.
With the help of blockchain technology, MyLime can create a digital passport of the product in question that records all its features. In the case of a Birkin bag, it can record the pattern and color scheme in case of a bespoke release. Special features can also be included. There is the possibility to record if the bag was worn and used by a well-renewed person (like the aforementioned Victoria Beckham). This is to create a certified history to shield consumers from counterfeiting and provide the goods with further value.
All the efforts put into creating these powerful myths should not go wasted and should remain bonded to the products throughout time. Certification is the key to buying better, securely, and authentically.
