What makes a brand successful? Is it their ability to achieve economies of scale? Or is it their ability to separate their unique product from their competitors? There is no one answer that assures a brand of success. Every successful brand has achieved greatness in their own unique way.
Pinterest
The popular picture sharing website has grown tremendously throughout the last few years. In fact, Pinterest has even sprouted memes across the globe. The most notable of these memes is called “Nailed It,” which compares an original Pinterest picture with a picture of a failed, dilapidated imitation. The picture to the left shows a Minion from Despicable Me as a cake. The top picture is the inspiring picture and the bottom picture is the imitation.
Why is this meme important to Pinterest’s success?
Pinterest is a platform that inspires people with new hobbies, recipes, crafts, or products that were originally unknown. In fact, Pinterest had originally started as a basic picture collection website. However, after talking to users of the web application, the creators decided to make some changes to customize it more towards their target user. According to Pinterest’s head of operations, Don Faul, the success of the social website came from talking to the people using it.
Key factor to success: Pinterest used feedback from its users for further improvement, which proved beneficial to the picture sharing application.
Lululemon Athletica
Lululemon was founded in 1998 as a high quality yoga and athletic clothes designer. In recent years, Lululemon has seen a massive increase in customers. The company’s story focused around goals and aspirations, which helped reach customers looking to purchase athletic gear. They continue to push inspiration in their marketing to further increase their brand equity.
Athletic gear allows us to feel a sense of potential or incipient accomplishment. If we work out, our clothes are a symbol of healthy living and improvement. However, just wearing athletic apparel allows us to feel as though we are in the mindset of improvement. When purchasing Lululemon gear, costumers are joining into the constantly growing community and becoming a part of something much larger than themselves. Once the chill of winter fades, and Spring brings warm weather, men and women will swarm the streets in their athletic apparel. Whether they run errands, or work out, their clothes help them feel better about their actions because they are wearing clothing associated with health, improvement, and positivity.
Key factor to success: Lululemon has always associated their brand with self-improvement and health in a time when multiple large demographics have an interest in fitness and health.
Warby Parker
Social entrepreneurships have become more prominent over the past decade. This is probably caused by the general population’s increased interest in our social and environmental impact. Many of these social entrepreneurs focus their efforts on social improvements, which often times become their defining factor.
The eyeglass company, Warby Parker, produces glasses at a low price, and gives back to the less fortunate. For every pair of sunglasses purchased, Warby Parker produces and donates a pair of glasses to people around the globe to people in need. Consumers want their brands to matter more and would like to align with brands that reflect their own values. Companies that contribute socially or environmentally have created a competitive advantage over other firms in the industry who do not partake in similar ventures. These brands have also created a new positioning strategy, by separating their product by social application, instead of the normal positioning strategies like cost leadership and product differentiation.
Key factor to success: Warby Parker focused on the social impact of their brand, which has caused consumers to take notice of the brand, and to bring it into higher consideration when making purchasing decisions for glasses. The stylish look and affordable pricing of their products also didn’t hurt.
There is no one answer to successful branding. All brands have different products or services, customers, and goals, which complicate things. It is important that each brand recognizes their strengths and leverages their strengths to their greatest advantage.
