How Brands Become Trends

This article is by Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO, Ruder Finn.

Trends shape societal opinion and offer insights on where we’re headed as a global community. Importantly for marketers and communicators, trends drive waves of consumer purchasing decisions. But what makes a brand trendy and resilient?

Apple is an iconic brand that seems to blunt all threats, setting the stage for a surge in desire for style and sleek design in everyday life. Apple continues to lead the global brand value rankings and has maintained its reputation as an innovator despite the entry of other competitive products and a string of recent issues. Apple breezed through the recent controversy around its tax strategy, which resulted in a Senate committee hearing. Even fierce Senators, amidst their rancor, were heaping praise: “We love the iPhone and the iPad” – “You managed to change the world.”

So what are the passions and touchpoints that establish brands as trends and enable them to stay in the public sweet spot? There are a few critical points to keep in mind:

Strike a deeply emotional chord. To understand what drives mass-market trends, first we have to consider the individual and what influences them. Purchasing decisions are personal, driven by emotions connected to our own identities, who we want to be and what’s appealing to us. Brands that connect to these emotions, to an individual’s sense of self, forge a deep bond with the consumer. Demonstrating how products are right for you, improve or establish desired lifestyles, fulfill aspirations and ambitions have the potential to become highly relevant for our everyday lives. They move beyond the transactional moment and link to personal stories, which are shared and embraced by like-minded consumers.

Empower social influence. According to a recent Crowdtap study, 92 percent of consumers trust and are influenced by their friends, family and colleagues - over any form of advertising or engagement - when making purchasing decisions. We trust those we know because our friends and family understand our values and we believe their advice is genuine and good for us. Avon is an example of a brand that made the online shopping experience social through the “Like My Lips” Facebook app, allowing consumers to digitally try on lipsticks and share with friends and family for their opinions. Trusted networks can transform an individual/brand experience into a community brand experience, spreading messages and making recommendations via word of mouth that catch like wildfire and quickly surge into a trend.

Channel cultural relevance. Being relevant to the cultural dialogue and tapping into the social news of the moment is a central aspect of bringing a brand to the forefront amongst consumers. The recent Baz Luhrmann remake of "The Great Gatsby" is resonating with a society that loves entertainment, making headlines and driving chatter on social networks globally. Riding that wave, several brands launched 1920s-inspired fashions, including Tiffany’s, which released a “Jazz Age” jewelry line, as well as Bloomingdale’s and Rue La La, which both spotlighted ‘20s-era fashions on their websites around the film release.

Bottom line? Bold communications and marketing initiatives that profoundly touch a personal cord, ignite a community response, and connect to cultural news have the potential to hit huge success in today’s trend-focused culture.