Brand Bible

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  

BRAND

IDENTITy,

coNSUmER

ExpERIENcE,

AND ThE

INTER-

coNNEcTED

pAckAGE

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and

09

 there were three major

television networks in the United States: CBS,

ABC, and NBC. The networks oered vibrant and

compelling shows but they were rather staid; the

programming—whether entertainment, news, or

educational—was drawn from a limited palette.

Enter cable television, and then MTV. When the

channel debuted in 1981, it created an entirely

new paradigm for television, garnering millions

of viewers eager for the channel’s music-themed

programming and its bold posture of irreverence.

MTV was a game changer. It and the seven brands

proled in this chapter transformed brand catego-

ries or completely invented new ones. With its

search algorithm, Google became the Internet

search destination without peer, sending sites like

HotBot and Excite into obscurity. It has since built

on its cachet, aiming to become the Internet appli-

cation portal without parallel. Amazon, too, recog-

nized a niche and swooped into it, becoming the

top online shopping site.

Starbucks coee

branding and store

design conveys the

purveyor’s identity

as a “third place,” a

comfortable refuge

away from work and

home.

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

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Game-changing brands are iconic. They act as

catalysts, leading culture; they rely on break-

through performances; and they had a certain

cultural logic to them, emerging as the result of

an intrinsic social need.

These eight groundbreaking brands—MTV, Nike,

American Express, Starbucks, AOL, Amazon,

TED, and Google—transformed specic brand

categories or invented them completely. They went

far beyond simply improving the way we live, work,

buy, play, and learn; they revolutionized culture.

The brands proled here reect the seminal trans-

formations taking place from 1980 to 2010. While

a selection of companies that created paradigm-

shifting innovations could never be complete,

these companies showcase the dynamics of brand

innovation and the necessity for it. These are the

game changers.

Photo: Brendan Howard/Shutterstock.com

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