I saw a post this morning on social that said; “What a year this last week has been”.

As the world seemingly accelerates into economic turmoil I’ve been reflecting on the learnings for brands from the GFC. The one thread that stands-out for me above others is the way consumers and business seek-out brands with traditional positioning in times of chaos.

When life is turned on it’s head, the buyer mindset naturally becomes driven by anxiety and fear. Other drivers that may previously have been important to decision making such as innovation, price, aspiration and currency become less attractive, and in some cases a negative brand association. At the same time, brands who have a long history, a proud heritage and reflect values of tradition find themselves becoming the most popular kids on the block.

Likewise brands who reposition themselves or their products and services in a traditional way, leveraging principles such as; Established Since…, Artisan Craftsmanship and Traditional Recipes/Approaches stand to resonate positively with a market seeking reassurance. This positioning should be reinforced by the visual language used by prands to communicate through their touch points from advertising and digital assets to point of sale, packaging, staff uniforms and digital marketing.

With few exceptions, this brand strategy can be applied to virtually every business and its brand, but must be delivered with authenticity across as many layers as possible. So if you’re keen to position your brand to best navigate the times ahead and to get the jump on best positioning for when things pick-up again, we suggest you dust-off your heritage and consider this approach in the weeks ahead. Better yet, get in touch and we can help formulate the right traditional strategy for your brand.

For your inspiration, here are some examples of brand leveraging their traditional aspirations beautifully: