What Makes a Winning Brand Strategy?

Some brands — Stanley, Carhartt, L.L. Bean, Converse, and Coca-Cola, to name a few — have been around for a while, so how do they maintain their relevance with consumers throughout decades? According to The Current, the answer lies in a seamless balance of nostalgia and innovation. Here, we’ll take a dive into the world of brand marketing to examine how companies can use both memories of the past and dreams of the future to create an attention-grabbing strategy. 

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How To Maintain a Successful Brand Strategy 

Brands typically want to stick around long enough to create a long-lasting connection with consumers, grow their business, and leave a lasting impression on their industry. And as we’ve seen with the examples above, it’s certainly possible. But what is the secret sauce to make it happen? Let’s walk through a few ways brands can create a successful brand strategy that survives the test of time. 

Reflect on the Past 

For brands, using the past can be a great way to connect with customers, especially people who have been loyal to the brand for a long time. With the right reflection strategies, brands can create nostalgia, which can create an emotional connection with the right demographic. Stanley, for example, has been around since 1913 and has the ability to appeal to many different generations through nostalgia. 

Look to the Future 

These brands know nostalgia alone isn’t enough, though, which is why they implement our second step, as well. Most people aren’t trying to live exclusively in the past, which means brands also need to look to the future. This might come in the form of messaging, partnerships, or marketing strategies, but brands must keep pace with their audience to stay relevant. 

Because of this combination of past and future, Stanley now has brand loyalty across generations. Within the same family, it’s possible to see one person carrying coffee in their vintage green Stanley thermos (with a removable lid that doubles as a cup, of course) while another, from an entirely different generation, carries a new mug from the latest collection. 

Take (Smart) Risks 

Josephine Severe, senior brand manager at Abbott’s Pedialyte, told The Current, “Not taking the risks you need pins you into this box. It’s not enough to keep doing the same thing — you have to evolve with what consumers want.” While this quote was specifically about Tupperware Brands Corp. filing for bankruptcy earlier this year, the sentiment is an important one for all brands to keep in mind. 

Without taking the risk of new endeavors, partnerships, platforms, audiences, and more, brands lose out on key elements of success. Marketing is often synonymous with trying, failing, and using those learnings to try again — and brand strategy is no exception to this. 

Now, of course, we’re not saying to run to your favorite platform and post whatever you want. That might just get your brand on the bad side of social media (and we’re guessing you don’t want to be there). But taking smart, informed risks can help your brand stand out among your competitors. 

Consistently Update Your Strategies 

As The Current explains, part of Tupperware’s downfall was likely their reluctance to integrate new parts of the business. For example, they didn’t introduce ecommerce until 2022, which left them out of online shopping. 

Instead of exclusively trying to retain life-long fans, many brands have taken new strategic approaches, with new ways to shop, reach customers (more on that in a second!), and grow their businesses. These brands consistently examine, refresh, and update their strategies to help them align with their audiences. 

L.L. Bean, for example, has been a brand since 1912, which means their strategy has changed too many times to count. We don’t even have to go back that far to check out strategy changes; just think about how Instagram has changed between 2014 and 2024. (Then imagine trying to explain an Instagram strategy to someone in 1912!) Just ten years ago, brands were just focused on finding their footing for social media campaigns. Now, it’s about voice, captions, strategy, influencer marketing, partnerships, and so much more. 

Implement New Channels 

One of the biggest channels in marketing over the last 80 years has been television advertising. Since the first ad aired on July 1st, 1941, brands have been trying to make an impact on their audience from the TV screen. 

But as time (you’ll get this joke in a minute) has gone on, so has the evolution of TV advertising. Once focused on brand awareness, new technology has empowered brands with digital features on the biggest screen in the house. Connected TV (CTV) has changed television advertising for a ton of brands — including the first TV advertiser, luxury watchmaker Bulova. (Get it? Time?)

Instead of only sticking with traditional TV advertising, many brands have integrated CTV into their TV marketing mixes. This (relatively) new channel, alongside other digital marketing channels, like paid search and social media, has helped advertisers more effectively reach their audience, promote their products, and grow their businesses. But without implementing the right changes into their strategies, brands are still being left behind. 

Read more: Your Guide to Connected TV Video Ad Specs

Create a Winning Brand Strategy That’s Built To Last 

Ironically, change is about the only thing we can expect to stay consistent in today’s marketing landscape. From new social media trends emerging daily to advancing tech for CTV, marketing is constantly evolving, which means companies need to build their brand strategies with change in mind. Thankfully, you don’t have to start from square one. By taking a look at other brands’ successes, failures, and strategies, you can craft a brand strategy that’s ready to stand the test of time.