What Even is a Brand Universe?
The Brand Universe is the inevitable next growth path for brands seeking to increase their cultural relevance and their profits.
This article is part 4/12 of The Next Big Bang: The Brand Universe Solution to Growth, the inaugural research thesis by edition+partners, distributed here on SOTA. In the ever-evolving landscape of brand development, the concept of a Brand Universe emerges as both a tangible entity and a strategic methodology, offering a dynamic approach to brand survival and growth.
It all comes down to the fact that for over half a century the rulebook for building a brand hasn’t changed. The Brand Universe, as we will go on to argue, will do just that.
For over 80 years, brands have been built starting with the four Ps (product, price, place, promotion) and a solid founding story, steeped in rich history. Then there’s its messaging, tone-of-voice, brand personality, and ethos including the brand’s vision, mission, values, and beliefs. Followed by its unique-selling-point and positioning in the market. On the inside there’s the brand’s company culture. On the outside it’s the visual identity and creative direction, and it’s long list of sales, marketing, and content channels where the brand shows up for people like us.
Together, it’s how a brand operates, stands out in the market, and most importantly how a deep emotional connection between a brand and the cohort of carefully curated customer segments is developed. One that can lead to increased word-of-mouth marketing, brand loyalty, and ultimately, sales. A strong brand establishes touchpoints with its stakeholders that consistently reinforce its value proposition and meet the needs of its audience.
Now, if you’re reading this, you’re already familiar with this brand building 101. And still, just a few go beyond the confines set by generations that came prior. For good reason, they work. Yet as the constant change we’re experiencing in our industry accelerates, it’s clear that the strategies, structures, and authorities that once held up aren’t sufficient for brands looking to stay ahead.
In other words, while the exact product, marketing vehicles, ambassadors, or sales channels may change with every launch, by and large the frameworks in which brands operate, inspire, sell, and exist remain static. For too long have we seen a nervousness to try something new, risk being avoided, decisions pushed out, and thus the general output becoming watered down.
Even with a template so rigid, so repeatable, not all brands have established a message and product that is holistic. Those who do, see great financial success and favourable consumer perception. Even so, once a brand is established most brand-owners won’t rethink their expansion plans. Again, they’ll copy one another and repeat. Except, we’re at a crux where to excel, an evolution of the traditional brand building tools needs to be established. A Brand Universe must be created.
Defining A Brand Universe
In the world of brand building, having just basic associations with a brand is the starting point. What truly distinguishes successful enterprises is their investment in crafting a unique and comprehensive Brand Universe. Forward-thinking brands are already building theirs.
A Brand Universe is a harmonious and interlinked ecosystem of internal (image, attitude, and codes) and external (narrative, entertainment, and product) touchpoints that combine to make a brand or individual distinctive, sought-after, and influential amongst its target audience.
What makes it different to the long famed brand world is that it goes beyond creating a sense of the familiar which can be achieved via clever messaging and lifestyle marketing. Instead, a Brand Universe looks to expand it’s footprint across multiple cultural domains, and views them as genuine opportunities to forge connections and share real experiences. It therefore forges deep emotional bonds with today’s universally, multi-faceted consumer market.
Take A24 for example. A24, for those living under a rock, is a film and distribution company that, we at SOTA, obsess over. Not only for their culture shifting cinematic output, but also for their incredible ability to nurture a cult-like following. Their fans are pretty easy to spot; often donning A24 branded baseball caps or overheard sharing esoteric film facts around a dinner table.
The maker of Moonlight and other filmic masterpieces have been pushing into scripted television, sports documentaries, podcasting, publishing, music, and even cosmetics. At this rate, we could be witnessing the making of a new-age prestige media conglomerate; the LVMH of media, if you will. A24 understand that a Brand Universe isn’t just about creating more marketable surface area, it’s about creating real revenue streams in categories they know their audience are also into.
As demonstrated by brands like A24, Jacquemus, or Rick Owens, the best Brand Universes create a set of cohesive and immersive entry points that resonate with diverse customer segments on both a deeply personal as well as on a collective level. They are devoted to carefully maintaining the red thread that keeps these activities consistent and inextricably linked to the core of their brand. It also operates as a lens to prevent a brand from losing their way and pushing into new areas that just don’t make sense.
Successful Brand Universes are those that when come in contact with, we as consumers instantly react, “Wow, thats SO [insert brand here].” To explain this further, we’ve identified a number of defining principles around our term.
#1 A Brand Universe Is a Tangible Entity:
A Brand Universe is both a tangible entity and a strategic approach. In its tangible form, Brand Universes exist as more than one thing. They foster conversations, craft memories, and weave narratives that transform its brand and products into lasting symbols of meaningful connection.
The best function as entertainers, curators, media, and inventors who are in constant dialogue with diverse fan groups worldwide, allowing them to actively shape culture and translate their influence into meaningful commerce.
They set out to occupy a more engaging part in a consumer’s life that goes much deeper than following a brand’s social media account or the occasional purchasing of a product.
#2 A Brand Universe Is a Strategic Approach:
In its role as a strategic approach, it avoids rigid and outdated frameworks, instead evolving in real-time with shifting trends and perceptions. The Brand Universe demands that the internal workings of a brand, or creative project, exist in perfect harmony with the outward facing image of the business. The end result here is authenticity, and perhaps more importantly, it establishes trust between the brand and its customer.
It also calls for the adoption of new methods for sourcing and organising creative input to maximise the quality of the end product. Brand Universes have begun to support an eco-system approach that replaces hierarchical company structures whereby your workforce becomes a global network, rather than penned into a five-story office block.
#3 A Brand Universe Sets Off a Chain Reaction
Akin to the practice of world-building in science fiction literature, brands embracing the concept of Brand Universes adhere to the principle that the process of building a Brand Universe is an ongoing, perpetual endeavour devoid of a predefined completion point. In other words, cultivating a Brand Universe is like setting off a chain reaction, for a Brand Universe is now ever-evolving and alive. Indeed, the test of a truly great brand, beneath a truly great leader, is knowing when to switch strategies at exactly the right time.
#4 A Brand Universe Encourages Community Co-Creation
Brand Universes encourage the contribution of consumers partaking in the telling of the brand’s next chapter. Unlike traditional brand building, a Brand Universe doesn’t dictate. While a Brand Universe can’t be strictly controlled by the brand itself, it can manage how it shows up, and monitor how it’s perceived by its audience in real time. Consumer engagement assumes a pivotal role in shaping the brand’s narrative. It thrives on active contributions from its audience, encouraging them to co-shape the brand’s future.
In other words, brands with a strong Brand Universe understand the importance of loosening the grip on control once a message, a product, or a campaign has launched. They let their output live among culture, yet are never inconsistent. They understand that a product may not be an instant hit, and instead believe that with enough monitoring and tweaks their brand’s output will find success down the line.
#5 A Brand Universe Is Rooted In Exploration
Brands that build robust Brand Universes are first movers and always have one foot in the now, the other into the future. They welcome both horizontal and vertical expansion and think big. They’ve built the foundations of their brand so strong, know themselves so well, that venturing into uncharted territory isn’t perceived as a risk, but serves as fuel that drives their every move. It’s a brand’s five senses while at all times it answers its who, what, when, why, where, and how.
Creating a Brand Universe isn’t limited to businesses in a specific industry or market, those of a certain size, or brands that have built up buzz around themselves. It’s those who uncompromisingly and consistently release quality products, marketing moments and experiences with their community as the sole stakeholder, and which stand the test of time beyond trends, who are the most successful.
It’s Time to Release the Research
This will be the last free article before our research will be fully rolled out. Over the next four weeks (consisting of eight more articles) we’ll be sharing the data we’ve collected from surveying hundreds of informed customers, excerpts of over 50 interviews with brands founders and c-suite, and our analysis that explains the question, “What does it all mean?” We further break down the make-up of a Brand Universe in four in-depth parts: From Core to Cosmos, The Community Constellation, The Creative Commerce Link, and Orbiting Tomorrow.
Here’s a quick preview:
Part 1 - From Core to Cosmos
“According to our research, a 42% of shoppers have spent less on fashion in the last year. Over half of them (54%) add they follow fashion shows less than they did a year ago and are less interested in new fashion collections over all (55%). With 65% admitting they feel like it’s harder to distinguish one brand’s aesthetic from a year ago”
Part 2 - The Community Constellation
“Our research shows that 62% of respondents believe it’s important that their favourite fashion brands take part in the current cultural conversation outside of fashion. More than a third (41%) even say their favourite fashion brands have inspired them to think differently about the way the world and society work.”
Part 3 - The Creative Commerce Link
“According to our survey, 65% of consumers find content from their favourite fashion brands more inspiring than that from media publications. The vast majority of brands we interviewed for this report align with this sentiment, indicating their intent to boost investments in their own channels in the upcoming years. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
Part 4 - Orbiting Tomorrow
“Despite only 8% of those surveyed say they have earned royalties through co-creation with brands, 21% have already co-created products with brands on their brand platforms, and 26% have created virtual designs or concepts reimagining brand designs.”
To further understand the intricacies of Brand Universe better we will be delving into the transformation of a brand’s messaging, behavioural attributes, product offering, revenue models, cultural agility, marketing paradigms, collaborations, customer journeys, and the adoption of new technologies.
For us, Brand Universes are the inevitable next frontier of merging left and right brain thinking within the leadership of brands across the full spectrum of the creative industries. It’s a new growth path for brands seeking to increase their cultural relevance and their profits. Creating a Brand Universe is how longevity is truly created. Those leading will raise the bar industry-wide.
It’s how you win, every time.
Next Tuesday, in part 5/12 of The Next Big Bang: The Brand Universe Solution to Growth, we deep dive into first of four pillars that make up the Brand Universe. In ‘Part 1: From Core to Cosmos,’ we analyse how a new generation of shoppers want their favourite brands to transcend beyond just fashion by venturing into new industries, and how the best brands are already thinking of innovative ways to expand and share their Brand Universe with their community across all five senses.