Brand loyalty is somewhat habit-based. Consumers buy products because their parents bought them, passing brand equity from generation to generation. Marketers know this and often leverage that heritage with customers, but in a world where there is disruptive competition for brand loyalty, is heritage marketing still viable?
The answer is yes. While some companies are shelving the heritage value of their brands, others, including Upfield, Ford, Hunter Douglas, Benjamin Moore, and Hormel, are capitalizing on the intergenerational equity of products and brands to retain existing customers and attract new ones.
Bradford Hudson, professor of marketing at Boston College and president...