Brands that Changed the World
September 19, 2007 by Susan Gunelius
Filed under Marketing
I’m in the process of writing a book that has me thinking a lot about brands that have had enormous impacts on the business world and beyond.
For example, The Beatles were a brand/product that changed the music industry from influencing musical genres to repeatecly breaking sales records. Retailers, radio stations, record companies and more altered the way they marketed music after The Beatles launched the British Invasion.
In the literary world, the Harry Potter brand changed the way books are published and marketed. Both of these brands have two important things in common. Word-of-mouth marketing helped boost them to iconic status, and fans were always left wanting more.
So I’m wondering, what other brands can Brandcurve readers can think of that changed the face of business in one way or another and why? What do you think?
Any brand that becomes a commonly used word in our language has my vote.
Three that I can think of:
Jeep
Kleenex
Xerox
Today, they may not have quite the strength they once had, but growing up I knew that these brands were used well beyond the actual product.
You can’t ignore the impact of Starbuck’s on the coffee industry.
I think that Google should be on the list as a brand which has changed the world in terms of the internet.