Heritage: A brand’s secret weapon

How many brands are older than 50 years? Actually, how many are over 100 years old? Not too many, that’s a quick answer. The longer answer is; more than you think, including a number of household names, writes Paul Taylor, executive creative director at BrandOpus.

Kellogg’s was founded in 1906. Ford Motors came to be in 1903. PepsiCo, Inc. predated this a little, setting up in 1919 and The Coca-Cola Company was founded 33 years earlier than that, in 1886. Twinings beats them all, opening its doors for the first time in 1706.

The drinks industry is particularly rich in brands with long heritage, Hoegaarden, sprang into existence in 1445; Grolsch has been trading since 1615, and Hall and Woodhouse, brewers of Badger Ale, have been around since 1777. Molson was founded in 1786 and Coors started in 1873, they are both relative newcomers but still make it into the ‘Century Club’ by some way. These last two joined forces in 2005 to create Molson Coors, which is still very much in its infancy.

The list could go on, but the point is that the drinks sector has many brewers and distillers with long and rich legacies, offering each brand a treasure trove of history to mine for their marketing efforts.

From time to time, brands need to rework their brand packaging design, whether to remain relevant in their existing markets, or to break in to new ones. This process can be an upheaval to an organisation with a long heritage; challenging the status quo and received wisdom from previous marketing custodians, and with the risk of alienating loyally longstanding and protective customers. On the other hand, long and complex traditions can be a hindrance, making a brand appear dated, fusty and thus preventing a brand from being relevant to consumers now, and in the future.

There are many brand owners that cling too dearly to their heritage, and why not? It has served them well in the past and gotten them to where they are now, why fix something that isn’t broken? But it is vital to strike the correct balance. Honouring heritage is important, being hindered by it can weaken a brand’s proposition. Just because a brand has looked a certain way for untold years, doesn’t mean it isn’t ripe for a refresh and adjusted, if not new, direction.

Badger Ales has a history dating back to 1875.

Hall and Woodhouse is a good example of a brand that has got the balance right. The Badger Ales range has a long and rich history, dating back to 1875. Recently BrandOpus helped Badger undergo a brand redesign, with the aim of refreshing the brand to appeal to a wider audience, unifying the on and off trade presence, and with the aim of growing market share.

We brought the Badger to the fore through the development of a distinctive identity, which built upon the brand’s rural roots and evokes the brand proposition of ‘countryside ales’. The new identity takes prominence across the entire portfolio, opening up the full range of products to the consumer both on and off trade to create consistent brand awareness.

The gamble paid off and Badger moved from the 4th largest premium bottled ale brand in the UK retail market to the 3rd. There was a 35% higher spend per consumer on Badger and a 16.2% increase in sales of Badger in Hall and Woodhouse pubs, with the commercial effectiveness of the redesign project recognised by a series of awards.

The same rules of rebranding apply in every industry; heritage is something to be used and cherished. If your product has a long history it must be celebrated, but not to the point that it becomes suffocating. When it comes to redesigning, the most important thing to do is embrace your assets whilst leaping forward creatively in a way that will not alienate an already loyal customer base.