BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog

The health food groupie group is no longer a fringe group. The number of people seeking healthier food choices is growing as fast as the waistlines of the non-health food groupie group. Interest in, at least, “thinking about” eating healthier now cuts across many consumer segments. Coke and Pepsi, with the introduction of their vitamin-infused beverages, are acknowledging this fact. The move by these mega-brands signals that we’ve reached a tipping point relative to consumer interest in the nutritional value of food and drink. The hue and cry for healthier choices is getting too loud for brands like Coke and Pepsi to ignore. But, for those who wonder whether the health food groupies will start drinking Coke and Pepsi, the answer is probably not. The bona fide health conscious folks are not necessarily the target of this initiative.

For those who wonder whether these new line extensions will be unhealthy for the Coke and Pepsi brands, again, probably not. In fact, it’s a smart branding opportunity. It makes them look good. By adding a healthier line of products to their core offerings these brands are demonstrating awareness of health and wellness issues. More significant, however, is that by seeing these healthier products on the shelves (even if they don’t buy them), the general population may feel less guilty about consuming these brands. Health by association. People started feeling better about McDonald’s when the brand added salads to its menu choices. Whether they gave in to their Big Mac attacks wasn’t the issue. The McDonald’s brand gained favor just by offering a number of more nutritious options. It wasn’t simply healthier for the people who chose to eat them, but it was good for the health of the brand. My belief is that the Coke and Pepsi brands will enjoy similar collateral health. People may drink their regular colas, but at least they’ll feel less guilty doing so.

Despite what the calendar says spring fashions have arrived. At least on paper they have. I was flipping through the recent special style section of Time Magazine when one ad in particular caught my eye. It was hot, in every sense of the word. In it, an attractive young couple sat on a New York City rooftop trying to catch a cool breeze. They gaze out at the peaks of skyscrapers emerging from what was obviously an encroaching ocean, the tip of the Empire State Building among them. The single line of copy read, “Global Warming Ready?” It was an ad for Diesel. It ran in sync with “An Inconvenient Truth” being up for an Academy Award. And it’s an ideal example of what makes the Diesel brand so successful in an industry where success is very hard to achieve.

In my book, BrandSimple, I recount a wonderful conversation I had with Toni Belloni, a former executive at Procter & Gamble who is currently CEO of LVMH, the well-known purveyor of fashion and luxury goods. During the conversation he told me that managing a fashion brand is akin to a surfer riding a wave. The surfer, he said, has to be responsive to several things at once – the height of the wave, the speed of the wave, the wind, and the currents running beneath. To keep his balance, the surfer needs to make lots of quick, almost intuitive adjustments to keep from going under. What’s more, Toni told me, one must think about the fashion consumer as sitting on the beach watching the surfer ride the wave in. Nothing can give away the fact that the surfer is reacting to all these subtle changes. It must be seen as an experience both flawless and easy. It’s a great analogy. And Diesel is a great example of a brand that brings the analogy to life through its branding. From the DJ in its stores, to its merchandising, its striking models to its assertive red label, Diesel makes riding the wave of fashion brands look simple. Responsive to the subtle, but constant changes in the industry, Diesel knows exactly how to balance its branding signals to continue appealing to its forward-thinking audience, even further evidenced by its environmentally-aware advertising.

Building a brand is tough. Building a fashion brand aimed at 20–something’s is tougher. Expectations for relevant differentiation are high. As trends change, as brands gain and lose favor, Diesel has been able to keep its balance without anyone realizing exactly how it’s doing it. To the consumers sitting on the beach – or on the rooftop – all they see is how hot a brand it is.