Brand Legacy

Brands retain value from their legacy providing they are still seen as relevant and interesting, providing they are still competitive and providing they retain goodwill. Or if people have had enough time to forget why they failed in the first place.

Ovaltine is reintroduced with new advertising but the same old orange jar. Sales of the century-old, malt-extract, milk flavoring powder doubled in the first 100 days. Coca-Cola brings back the 40-year-old Fresca brand of citrus soft drinks with a graphics makeover and new flavor combinations.

As we age our nostalgic yearnings grow, making us more receptive to advertisers and marketers use of what researchers call “a longing for positive memories from the past.” In addition to time’s arrow, this desire for nostalgia is further intensified by society’s present circumstance of receding predictability and opportunity.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby that personality is forged by an “unbroken string of successful small gestures.” And, as with people, so with brands. Brand personality takes root in the soil of its own heritage and history.

I’m calling out British marketers today. They have a lot to learn about the importance of provenance, heritage and history.