The Importance of Branding That Stands the Test of Time

When planning the branding for your business, you must think in the long term. What is trending today may not be relevant tomorrow. So, you need a concept that is timeless.

Imagine your business is still around in 40 years’ time. Will the name still resonate with new customers? Will your logo still hold up? Get those elements right today and your business will be futureproofed.

What is classic branding?

But what brands can be classed as classics? Sometimes it’s hard to tell in this age of frequent rebranding, marketing changes, and acquisitions. Nowadays, branding can age quickly, and companies are forced to adapt or fail. But smart branding avoids this scenario altogether.

A great example of strong branding is Monopoly. The board game was created in 1935 by the Parker Brothers and the branding has stood the test of time, moving the product into the electronic age. So much so, there is now a Monopoly Live Casino game online developed by Evolution Gaming, featuring real dealers spinning the wheel in this updated version. What started as a board game born in the golden age of radio has transitioned to the online world without skipping a beat. The logo was tweaked a couple of times but to this day, it still uses the original Kabel Heavy typeface.

The oldest logo still used today

Another brand that has stood the test of time is Twinings Tea. Since they first employed their logo in 1787, this English tea firm has never changed it, making it the oldest continuously used the logo in design history. That’s 236 years of global trading with the original branding. During that time, they pioneered the use of tea bags but have never felt the need to change their name or logo. For many people, Twinings remain synonymous with tea production.

Branding that goes stale

It’s almost impossible to predict how a typeface or logo design will hold up in 50 years’ time. But you can at least choose a name and logo that has a chance of survival. This means avoiding names that could become outdated. One good example is the electrical retailer RadioShack. The American firm was established in 1921 at the start of the radio boom. But by the 1960s, the name already sounded dated. However, they were such an established brand that they were able to power on through the TV age.

By the 2000s, the rise of the internet had made the RadioShack brand name sound even more old-fashioned. The company twice filed for bankruptcy before shrinking its operations in 2017. The brand has survived in the US thanks to its nostalgic connections, but it has been a rocky road.

Don’t get trapped by trendy jargon

Today, names that use prefixes and suffixes like tech, micro and com, as well as e-anything or i-anything should be avoided. They may sound relevant for a year or two, but they’ll soon become relics of the past as technology moves on. The same should be applied to names that draw influences from Web3 or the Metaverse. You can operate in the latest online spaces without choosing a brand name that confines you to a certain era or technology type. There are countless failed businesses from the Dot.com era that can attest to this.

Instead, you need a brand name that is easy to remember and reflects your product in a timeless way. You can use a family name such as Twinings, but you’ll need to work hard to establish yourself before customers will relate the name to the product. So, this is best avoided if you want the smoothest path to brand recognition.

Originally posted 2023-01-11 08:00:19.