In today's global market, even the most iconic brands face the risk of becoming irrelevant. How do brands adapt to changing consumer preferences without losing their core identity? This post explores how heritage brands can successfully reinvent themselves and move forward in the AlwaysOnâ„¢ modern global marketplace.
Evolution of Iconic Brands in a Changing Global Marketplace
New generations come with new preferences, new technology and new ways of wanting to connect. Brands – regardless of their age or size – need to adapt to the needs, wants and desires of evolving audiences, and a constantly changing culture, without alienating existing audiences.
The Importance of Iconic Brands
We may think that in our world of progressive start-up brands, all bases are being covered for demanding and discerning consumers but – in such a globally diverse and competitive market – iconic brands are, in fact, more important and special to us than ever before.Â
They are our beacons of recognition, consistency, and love, in an ever-changing and increasingly confusing landscape. We expect icons to change – they need to change – but when they do, they change our world. Our emotional reaction to the changes brands need to make becomes the ultimate test and can make or break their presence and power.
The Unique Challenges of Heritage Brand Reinvention in the Food Industry
Nowhere is the competition as fierce, and as complex, than in the diverse, eclectic and shifting landscape of our food industry.
Not only do we expect better functional benefits but our need for emotional connection has never been greater and this presents a huge opportunity for our traditional and established iconic brands to both re-connect with loyal followers, through surprise and delight, and foster dynamic, yet meaningful, new relationships.
Butterfields Candy - A Century of Sweet Success, Reimagined for a Growing Global Marketplace.
When it comes to food icons, Butterfields Candies is one of the most recognized and beloved artisan American candy makers around the world. The challenge for Butterfields was to take a traditional icon and turn it into an experiential brand to connect with a global marketplace.Â
With great confidence of who and what Butterfields stands for, the literal depiction of the hand-made candies on their packaging could be removed, leaving space for a more joyful and representational brand expression.Â
Floh Creative brought together vibrant color hues that reflect the colors of the candy, fruit illustrations, timeless fonts and hand-lettering to represent and reflect the hand-made manufacturing process. This new fresh approach infused vibrant energy into creative executions and allowed a new aesthetic and vision to emerge that represents the products.Â
With a focus on the story of how the candy has touched the hearts and tastebuds of so many generations, a new brand personality has emerged and made its way across all brand touch points. With refreshed package design, product package offerings, product photography, logos, icons people are finding the appeal of Butterfields Candy on digital platforms and in places they haven’t seen before.
With these new digital tools, we’ve moved, Butterfields Candies beyond a recognized as a loved Southern cultural phenomenon with established iconic cues into a more integrated brand, capable of delivering a more emotive experience.
Maintaining Modern Heritage and Authenticity with Iconic Brands
We expect our icons to rise to new challenges but their leadership and success is, and always has been, defined by how they approach and create definitive change. And how they change is vital to how they connect with us now and in the future.Â
Essentially, it’s about how brands look back to look forward, protecting and imbuing our icons with a sense of modern heritage and authenticity to underpin a new consumer sensibility as we seek access, and a sense of belonging, but with the option of individual choice and interpretation.
Francis Marion Hotel - Adapting to a New Generation in a Historic Location
A true icon never stops challenging and, looking outside of food to the hospitality sector, this was a critical issue facing The Francis Marion Hotel redevelopment team, an icon needing to rethink its existing offer and find a way to create bespoke experiences for an expressive generation of wanderlust inspired true travel lovers.Â
The Francis Marion Hotel takes everything iconic about its location – Charleston, South Carolina – and makes it accessible to a younger consumer.Â
Where The Francis Marion is an historical architectural icon, celebrating 100 years as a marquee destination in its own right, the hotel in the center of the Downtown Charleston Historic District offers a timeless hospitality that connects to the past and can be experienced today. Celebrating a century of history, the Francis Marion Hotel is an architectural icon in Charleston, South Carolina, offering guests a unique and immersive experience.
The Francis Marion has been refreshed with contemporary and vibrant modern elegance and grace throughout the property.
Art and design are featured throughout the property and in it's interior design. The space offers the inspired travelers a glimpse into the lifestyles of celebrities and diplomats and an opportunity to experience wonderful time-honored hospitality that has made the South famous.
Today, the Francis Marion Hotel has become a destination to to hold memorable events, weddings and celebrations, offering well planned spaces to inspire guests and treat them with the indelible Southern charm and warmth of the City of Charleston.
Key Questions for Reinvesting Iconic Brands
Globally known brands have successfully followed different paths of change but all iconic brands have evolved by answering these questions for reinventing icons:
1. What is your story? Find ways to re-interpret and re-express your story for new – and all – audiences.
2. What makes you, you? Use design to update, refresh and reinvent but always preserve and cherish the right parts of your equity.
3. Do you have a big idea? What makes brands powerful is a big idea that can be constantly reinforced, explored, magnified and evolved through its brand identity and evolving design.
4. Can you keep connected? True icons can live on, if their ideas remain relevant and connected and they use design to create new expressions
Consumers’ desires change but your brand at the core should not. By staying resolutely true to who you are but reinventing with original creativity and vision, you will always evolve with, engage and be a newly desirable and successful modern icon for your consumers – for both today’s and tomorrow’s generations.
Get Ready for the AlwaysOn™ Future Now
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you develop a future-proof retargeting advertising and marketing strategy for your business. Floh Creative's proven AlwaysOn™ process is geared to set your business up for growth and success.
We can get you started with the process in three steps, getting your data ready, taking action, and shifting mindsets and orienting your business toward using the cookie-less, AI marketing future. Let's work together to ensure your marketing efforts continue to reach the right audience and drive conversions that will grow your business!
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Written by Mary Ellen Schrock for Floh Creative.
Mary Ellen is the Chief Disruptor of Floh Creative. A bright, intuitive creative she has a passion for solving complex design and business challenges, and brand storytelling. Mary Ellen’s 20+ years of business strategy and creative problem-solving experience working with Corporate, Fortune 50 and Entertainment giants has created household name and recognizable identities for Coca-Cola, BMW, Nike, Oprah Winfrey, and Disney. She's been the creative force behind the successful brand launch campaigns for Lotus Cars, Disney - The Lion King Broadway, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Floh Creative partners with brands and businesses to build tools and deploy strategies to produce measurable results and grow business.
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