What Makes a Brand More Than Just a Brand?

At what point does a person shift from drinking Coca-Cola to wearing it proudly on their clothing? How did I grow to respect and work at lululemon as someone who saw it as preppy in high school?

Connection. Memory. Relatability.

Brands fall apart when there’s no connection.

Sometimes that connection is simple. The product works, and the customer is satisfied. Other times, it’s deeper. It’s the feeling or the message. You trust it. You relate to it.

Simply put, a connection has to be made. Without it, a product is a flame with no fuel. But when that connection runs deep enough, the product itself is even upstaged by the memories and feelings tied to the brand.

A Personal Tale

How Coke Beats Root Beer

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you I am a die-hard root beer lover through and through. But still, Coca-Cola has a special place in my heart because of the memories attached to it. Sharing a cold can with a loved one on a hot summer day. All the incredible events attended with a Coke in hand: sports, parties, and movies. Those feelings, those memories, are what can lead me to grab a Coke over a root beer.

Those memories are what make me, and so many others, willing to be walking billboards, wearing logos on our clothing.

But with these memories come strong biases, whether we realize it or not. Biases, good and bad, play a huge role in how we relate to brands.

A Change of Heart

In high school, I did not relate to lululemon. I was a competitive swimmer and runner, and I stuck to what I knew: Speedos, two-and-a-half-inch running shorts, and an average wardrobe. lululemon felt like an upper echelon that I was not a part of.

That changed in college when I needed formal pants for a presentation.

I walked into a lululemon and experienced what I do relate to: simple human connection. The employees were incredibly approachable and friendly. They didn’t carry themselves with an air of superiority like I prematurely assumed they might. They treated me simply as a person who belonged, and that is the same experience I try to replicate for customers and coworkers every time I clock in.

Because I know that for people shopping at my store for the first time, or just trying something new and unfamiliar, a little relatability can make something that once felt distant seem unexpectedly familiar.

Brands are More than just their Product

Sometimes, all a brand needs is a way to break down the barriers of entry and the walls that separate us.

When we find something we connect with, create memories with, and relate to, a brand can start to feel less like a label and more like a place we belong. In that space, a brand becomes something more than just a product. It becomes something we carry with us in our memories, and sometimes, even on our sleeves.