Five Steps to Building a Cultural Brand

Cultural brands are based not only on successful products, but on creating a lifestyle around them. This article looks at how brands can be created which have an emotional and cultural appeal to consumers, as well as a practical one.

Five Steps to Building a Cultural Brand

Harvey HartmanThe Hartman Group, Inc. Washington

Successful cultural icons like The Grateful Dead and contemporary brands such as Starbucks, Whole Foods Market and Stonyfield Farm exemplify the cultural connection between the brand and the consumer world. Today's cultural brands have learned they are not merely selling products, they are creating lifestyle worlds around their products and brands. As marketers, the more you know about the world in which your product plays, the more successful your brand will be.

Marketers can utilize distinct components of a cultural brand to create an emotional appeal...

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