Rethinking Prestige Branding Book Summary - Rethinking Prestige Branding Book explained in key points

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Rethinking Prestige Branding summary

Name: Rethinking Prestige Branding
Rating: 4.4 (56 reviews)
Author: Wolfgang Schaefer and J.P. Kuehlwein

Wolfgang Schaefer J.P. Kuehlwein

Secrets of the Ueber-Brands

4.4 (56 ratings)

17 mins

Brief summary

Rethinking Prestige Branding by Wolfgang Schaefer and J.P. Kuehlwein explains how modern brands move beyond legacy self-referencing and exclusivity to create a narrative that fits wider contexts and connects authentic values with their consumers.

Topics

Branding

Table of Contents

Rethinking Prestige Branding
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Learn how to build a modern prestige brand in today’s market.

You might think that energy drink company Red Bull and luxury fashion house Hermès have nothing in common. Yet if you look closely, these two world-famous brands follow the same seven marketing principles – steps that have ensured their continued success.

So what are these seven principles? And how can they help brands – including yours – outperform the competition? These blinks will explain how you can transform you brand into an “ueber” brand.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how to turn your brand into a hero;
what a “velvet rope” is in the context of branding; and
why a face cream that comes with complicated instructions is prestigious.

Exclusivity and high prices don’t signify prestige anymore, as technology has leveled the playing field.

As the global economy changes, business strategies are changing along with it. So what do companies need to know to build a prestige brand today?

One strategy that doesn’t work as well as it once did is high prices. Brands were once able to distinguish themselves – and their customers – through extravagant price tags. The idea was that a product would become a status symbol when only a few, hyper-wealthy individuals could afford it.

Now practically anyone can buy or borrow the prestige of a brand. Online flash sales offer designer clothes at a discount while luxury cars can be rented by the hour.

As a result, such luxury items have lost their once exclusive status.

The new status driver is knowledge. In our information age, people idolize superior intelligence. Just consider the rising status of rich IT professionals, once seen only as “nerds.”

This means that your brand can attain prestige by being “in the know,” for example, by employing novel technologies or staying ahead of new fashion trends.

A knowledgeable brand can, in turn, help customers appear knowledgeable, as privileged information is sometimes necessary to “get” a brand. A good example is a skater who distinguishes herself from posers by only wearing “real” skater gear.

Another crucial aspect of establishing brand prestige today is the need to be honest and ethical in your business dealings. Using child labor to assemble clothes or polluting the environment are wrong; consumers today demand better of the brands they support.

With online technology, customers can now rapidly share information about various brands, and bad news travels quickly. Information about a company’s unethical behavior can destroy a previously stellar brand image.

Consumers have used social networks to shame brands publicly over false promises or exploitative working conditions – some have even organized brand boycotts.

Companies that promote social responsibility, however, can use the same channels to connect with customers over the environmental and social issues they care about, earning their respect.

In our next blink, we’ll explore the secrets to prestige branding in the digital age.

Prestige brands define excellence themselves and provide the authenticity that consumers now seek.

In 1873, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche theorized about a new type of person that he called the Ueber-Mensch. This person is independent, ahead of the masses; he lives by his own rules and values.

Prestige brands today function like this theoretical person. Ueber-Brands adhere to self-defined principles and ideals rather than striving to excel in generic, pre-established categories, such as being the fastest car on the market, the most expensive fur coat or another restaurant with three Michelin stars.

Establishing an Ueber-Brand means defining and promoting your company’s unique mission.

Becoming a prestige brand today requires more than just making beautiful, well-designed products. Your company also needs to follow the seven secrets of prestige branding.

Here’s the first secret. To stand out from the competition, your company needs to adopt a unique mission, a goal that you stick to at all costs. Today’s consumers want the process of buying to have more meaning so to set yourself apart from the competition, you need to establish your inspiration and explain the drive behind why your brand exists.

Ueber-Brands balance exclusivity and belonging while seducing new customers to join the club.

When a product enters the mass-consumption market, it tends to lose its prestige status. So how does ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, for example, maintain its “hipness” while being available in nearly every supermarket?

Ben & Jerry’s is an example of the second secret to Ueber-Branding: balancing exclusivity with inclusivity.

Cultivate an inspiring story around your brand to draw in customers and keep them hooked.

Ever since our human ancestors shared hunting lore around a cooking fire, telling a good story has become part of the fabric that unites people and society. This love of stories, along with a desire for meaning, are powerful tools to boost your brand.

Notebook company Moleskine, for example, tells a great brand story of preserving the fading tradition of hand-written notes amid the pressures of a digital age.

To truly become a prestige brand, your product needs to deliver on the expectations you create.

So now you’ve come up with a compelling story and new customers are intrigued, eager to learn more about your company and your product. What characteristics should your product have to ensure a customer leaves with one or several in hand?

Crucially, an Ueber-Brand needs to offer “ueber” products; that is, products that fulfill the promise made by the brand’s myth.

Realize your mission and myth while moderating growth to preserve your prestige brand.

Do you think that a hip, unconventional brand makes its employees work in gray cubicles from nine to five? Hardly. The sixth secret of a prestige brand is to align your day-to-day operations with your mission and myth.

Your company’s mission and myth should first be reflected in your corporate culture. Otherwise, the public will sense your disingenuousness, and your myth will die.

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What is Rethinking Prestige Branding about?

Rethinking Prestige Branding (2015) is your guide to the radically transformed world of prestige brands. These blinks explain how the practice of building a prestige brand has changed, what customers want today and what you need to do to make your brand a coveted object.

Rethinking Prestige Branding Review

Rethinking Prestige Branding (2020) explores the evolving landscape of prestige brands and provides insightful strategies for building and sustaining their appeal. Here are three reasons why this book is worth reading:

With in-depth analysis and case studies, it offers a fresh perspective on how to navigate the complexities of luxury marketing in today's competitive marketplace.
By examining the role of authenticity, purpose, and emotion in brand-building, it offers actionable insights for creating long-term loyalty among luxury consumers.
The book's attention to cultural shifts and consumer behavior makes it a valuable resource for marketers and brand managers who want to stay ahead of the curve.

Best quote from Rethinking Prestige Branding

If youre not pissing off 50 percent of the people, youre not trying hard enough. – Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia

—Wolfgang Schaefer and J.P. Kuehlwein

Who should read Rethinking Prestige Branding?

Marketing and branding professionals
Readers curious about how today’s brands got to where they are
Entrepreneurs looking to boost their brand’s growth

About the Author

Wolfgang Schaefer is chief strategy officer for advertising agency SelectNY. He has years of experience in developing global brand strategies for European, American and Asian markets. He is also the cofounder of Ueber-Brands Consulting.

JP Kuehlwein is brand director for Procter & Gamble and a lauded business leader, strategy expert and brand builder. He is a cofounder of Ueber-Brands Consulting.

Categories with Rethinking Prestige Branding

Marketing & Sales

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