Identifying Sources and Quotations - D. B. Holt // How Brands Become Icons.

Douglas B. Holt's 'How Brands Become Icons - The Principles of Cultural Branding' presents a systematic model explaining how some of America's most successful iconic brands have reached such acclaimed positions of social power. With brands such as Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson, Nike, and Budweiser - all of which are valued by consumers more for what they symbolise than for what they do -  having achieved cultural iconic status, Holt highlights how these brands create "identity myths" that, through powerful symbolism 'soothe collective anxieties' resulting from acute social change. Holt argues that icons cannot be created via conventional branding strategies which focus on benefits, brand personalities, and emotional relationships but instead must be instilled with a deeper cultural perspectives. He outlines a distinctive set of "cultural branding" principles used by some of the most successful brands of the last half-century to build their own iconic brands.

Harvard Reference:

Holt, D. B. (2004) How Brands Become Icons. Boston, Mass. Harvard Business School Press.

Identified Quotations:

• 'People identify strongly with cultural icons, and often rely on these symbols in their everyday lives.’ (Holt. 2004: 1)

• ‘Most consumer brands need a cultural strategy as part of their branding tool kits. Often enough, brands require hybrid strategies.’ (Holt. 2004: 8)  

• ‘Iconic brands provide extraordinary identity value because they address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation.’ (Holt. 2004: 10)

• ‘A set of tactic strategic principles I call the cultural branding model’ (Holt. 2004: 22)