Coca-Cola. Harley-Davidson. Nike. Budweiser. Valued by customers more
for what they symbolize than for what they do, products like these are
more than brands--they are cultural icons. How do managers create brands
that resonate so powerfully with consumers? Based on extensive
historical analyses of some of America's most successful iconic brands,
including ESPN, Mountain Dew, Volkswagen, Budweiser, and
Harley-Davidson, this book presents the first systematic model to
explain how brands become icons. Douglas B. Holt shows how iconic brands
create "identity myths" that, through powerful symbolism, soothe
collective anxieties resulting from acute social change. Holt warns that
icons can't be built through conventional branding strategies, which
focus on benefits, brand personalities, and emotional relationships.
Instead, he calls for a deeper cultural perspective on traditional
marketing themes like targeting, positioning, brand equity, and brand
loyalty--and outlines a distinctive set of "cultural branding"
principles that will radically alter how companies approach everything
from marketing strategy to market research to hiring and training
managers. Until now, Holt shows, even the most successful iconic brands
have emerged more by intuition and serendipity than by design. With How
Brands Become Icons, managers can leverage the principles behind some of
the most successful brands of the last half-century to build their own
iconic brands. Douglas B. Holt is associate professor of Marketing at
Harvard Business School.
