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August 11, 2005
Non-brands
As Business Week explains in The Serious Cachet of "Secret Brands", sometimes the best brand is a non-brand:
In a world where brands rule, nobody drinks sweetened caramel water. They drink Coke or Pepsi. And while some still drink no-name water, many prefer Evian or Poland Springs. Brands are so embedded in our daily habits that it's hard to imagine a world without them. But a couple of store chains -- Muji of Japan and American Apparel in the U.S. -- are striving to establish just such a world by offering the "unbrand" with their logo-free products, and they're achieving tremendous success. How to account for it?
Logo-free obviously appeals to set of consumers who are sick of being bombarded with brand names and seek to be unshackled from them. "There's a core group of people that can't stand the idea of having to walk around as a corporate billboard with a logo stuck on the chest," says Steve Manning, managing director of Igor, brand naming agency in San Francisco.
But in the case of Muji and American Apparel, more than that is going on. Both retailers have carved out a niche by offering a certain style, whether minimalist in the Muji's case or classic fashion revival in American Apparel's, that has captured the imagination of millions.
While "brands" are intangible, they are not ephemeral. Behind the successful brand is something that appeals to the consumer. In the case of McDonalds, it is consistency and value. In the case of Coke and Pepsi, it is a certain taste (which is why Coke drinkers hate Pepsi and visa-versa). In the case of Montblanc pens, it is a statement of wealth and sophistication. In the case of Muji and American apparel, it is their recognizable style.
If you have a recognizable style, a logo may be redundant; the style is your logo.
And if the style ceases to appeal, no "branding" or catchy logo will necessarily save the day.
Thus, it is important to keep in mind that the I-Cubed Economy is built not on the outward trappings of the logo or brand, but on the deep-rooted appeal to consumer desires. And after all, isn't that what economic activity is all about - meeting human wants and needs?
Posted by Ken Jarboe at August 11, 2005 3:30 PM
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