How Timeless Brands Should Approach Trends

In 1985, Coca-Cola made a bold decision that would go down as one of the most famous brand missteps of the twentieth century. For nearly one hundred years, Coca-Cola had been the undisputed king of soft drinks. But as Pepsi began to gain ground in the cola wars, especially among younger consumers, Coca-Cola decided it was time for a radical change. After extensive market research and taste tests, Coca-Cola launched “New Coke,” a sweeter, smoother recipe designed to win back Pepsi fans. It was a calculated risk—one that Coke’s executives believed would refresh the brand and reassert its dominance.Instead, the new formula sparked an uproar. Loyal Coca-Cola drinkers felt betrayed by the shift, and many took the change personally, viewing it as a disruption of a national treasure. Calls, letters, and protests poured in from all over the country, including emotional appeals and even reported cases of hoarding the original formula. Coca-Cola’s consumer hotline, typically receiving a few hundred calls a day, ballooned to thousands. It quickly became clear that New Coke was less a triumph and more a galvanising force for the original recipe’s fans. The backlash, amplified by the media, painted Coca-Cola as out of touch with its own drinkers.In just 79 days, Coca-Cola announced the return of its classic formula, now rebranded as “Coca-Cola Classic.” What could have been a brand disaster evolved into a case study in corporate humility and the power of consumer loyalty. Coca-Cola Classic returned to shelves, and sales surged, fuelled by a sense of national pride in the drink that had, for a brief moment, been taken away. New Coke, meanwhile, was quietly shelved, its short life a lesson in the peril of tampering with tradition, no matter how carefully calculated the intent.Nearly forty years on, that lesson continues to be learnt, some in harder senses than others. The preserve of branding, marketing, communications — whatever your linguistic preference — has always been to set brands and products apart. Today, though, it’s not merely favourable but cardinal. A fact that, combined with unflinching KPIs, incites ‘interesting’ brand activity in pursuit of thisWhile Coca-Cola’s decision was fuelled by the competition posed by a challenger brand, we see plenty of spur of the moment moves made based on other market elements. Namely, trends.Trends & How They WorkIn the 2006 hit film The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, an intimidatingly stoic yet perennially disappointed Editor-in-Chief of a Vogue-esque magazine. In one scene during an editorial run-through, Andi, our blue-sweatered protagonist (played by Anne Hathaway) and Priestley’s fashion-clueless assistant, snorts in response to an exec’s difficulty in selecting one of two blue belts that are imperceptibly different in colour.That one sound, combined with a secondary comment labelling the couture lining the room as “stuff”, results in the film’s most-referenced monologue, delivered scathingly by Streep:“I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet, and you select… I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back, but what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean.You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that, in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns, and then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn’t it?… who showed cerulean military jackets. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.However, that blue represents millions of dollars of countless jobs, and it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room… from a pile of “stuff.”Besides the excellent writing and delivery, what this scene does perfectly is give contextual meaning to the worlds of design, curation, taste and aesthetics. Regardless of whether laymen can decipher the importance of these concepts, they no doubt possess it.Though Priestley’s top-down demonstration of fashion trends is likely no longer as pertinent in the era of creators — where anyone can become an influencer — it captures the very nature of trends, one that is ever-shifting.The term ‘trend’ comes from either Middle English or High German: ‘trenden’ or ‘trandijan’ meaning to turn, spin or revolve. But today, its popular definition is even more one-dimensional.Trends are trending in 2024. An inevitability really, in our inextricably interconnected world, where tech has enabled convenience in every domain and a fascination with fads has quelled the term's real meaning. What was once defined as patterns of change has become conflated with high-ranking hashtags, often suffixed with ‘-core’, ‘-tok’ or ‘-gram’ and so unbelievably niche that even avid social scrollers miss them – their bespoke algorithm deeming it irrelevant. In reality, we’re confusing what’s trending with trends. Trends are directions – lines along which energy and activity flows. Not quite Barbiecore, they’re significant, persistent societal or cultural shifts. Not chasing cool to win sales.That said, sometimes the shifts that do have a certain gravitas seem fleeting; rarely withstanding the caprices of the monoculture. Following them is scarcely innovative or meaningful. Often, the best use of trend analysis happens after the fact, among forecasters, strategists and researchers. For businesses, it’s a case of measuring the distinction and relevance of your brand in relation to the trend itself, the market and wider culture.A Framework For Approaching TrendsBrands and reputations aren’t built at the bottom of the funnel. True value is created at the demand end — the very top. Marketing science is what happens at the very bottom. We are in the business of the former, unwilling to give much weight or attention to those “preferably up and to the right” KPIs most marketing execs spend their working lives chasing, apparently in the name of meaningful engagement. After all, nothing says “human connection” like a soaring conversion rate.If you are in the business of trends, might we suggest being in it for the right reasons? No sense in risking brand for short-term buck. Especially when the entire mandate of timeless brands is to not chase sales. If you’ve been in business for three hundred years, why the unwavering focus on quarterly metrics? Work Backwards: What Are You Using Trends For?In July, UK luxury retailer FLANNELS tapped into ‘brat summer’ — a micro-trend that emerged off the back of the sixth studio album from pop culture darling, Charli XCX — with an edit of pieces from the likes of Coperni and Balenciaga in the signature lime green shade of the ‘brat’ album cover. A strategic marketing move leaning into timely cultural hype to hike sales.Last year, Gucci decided to take their blockbuster Cosmos Exhibition to the metaverse, following its highly positive public response for visitors across London, Paris and Kyoto. Dubbed Gucci Cosmos Land, the show was recreated on decentralised gaming world and blockchain-based platform, The Sandbox, where, from a brand affinity perspective, performed really well. According to GEEIQ’s State of Virtual Brand Experiences report there’s “a clear correlation between Gen-Z’s most loved brands and the number of (metaverse) activations they’ve done.” A finding that is no doubt to blame for a handful of nightmare-inducing virtual experiences by brands jumping on a bandwagon with little to no justification.There are key differences between a marketing trend, a technological trend and innovation. That difference lies in the scale of production. For example, when a brand uses a trend as a marketing tool, it is essentially ‘getting in on the joke’ (to varying degrees of success and/or cringe). This is predominantly a means of consumption. However, when a brand produces a product or service specifically in line with trend, the marque isn’t just attaching itself to the trend, it’s actively reproducing it.There’s both risk and reward here, but not much of the latter for the non-liquid. When the trend becomes boring or dies out, the product will likely die out too — potentially bringing the brand with it — especially if its value or meaning doesn’t go beyond its source.Signal Vs Noise: Are You Operating Out of Fear?Let’s return to New Coke. That terrible decision made out of fear. Of Pepsi no less.Fear is a natural, perfectly valid (in most contexts) response to threat. Coca-Cola felt threatened by a new, trendy challenger, and instead of doubling-down on their well-loved product and brand, they changed the formula. You know the rest. They listened to the wrong thing.We define ‘noise’ as a trend or craze that is generating so much attention that it seems impossible to ignore and, moreover, too good a marketing opportunity to pass up on. Signals, on the other hand, are far subtler changes; signs of where things are heading. Signals are what strategic forecasters concern themselves with, identifying them early on to get ahead of a fully-fledged trend.For timeless brands, signals are more important than noise. Always analyse who/what you’re listening to, and ask whether you’re contributing value or just adding to the noise.Remember: Luxury Leads, Never Follows.Getting ahead is a solid business plan for timeless brands. Those who are timeless are just so thanks to a strong founding spirit and constant reinvention as time moves on. Luxury should be in this class — the innovators, never the laggards. Jacquemus: A Trailblazer of Surrealist MarketingIt began with a post (the typical start of modern fairytales), a couple of oversized, vibrantly coloured handbags gliding through the streets of Paris like the world’s most fashionable trams. Then came another; one enormous purse “sailing” across the waters of Italy’s Lake Como—a surreal vision that blended high-end accessorising with pure whimsy.Jacquemus has never been one to conform to the norms of the fashion market. Not content to merely be in the same room as heritage brands, the French fashion label has managed to capture the attention of the world through doing things differently, and doing them first. The brand's unique appeal lies in its blend of sensual minimalism, originality and playfulness, captured in the house’s dreamlike advertising efforts.Once Jacquemus started, the rest joined in. But what fuelled the surrealist marketing wave in the first place? In part, we can attribute the fact that images of floating handbags or self-driving shoes are better at cutting through the noise on TikTok, where unfiltered authenticity reigns supreme. Consumers are also ready for a touch more fantasy in fashion generally, especially with the rise of hyper-realistic, surreal visuals from AI platforms like DALL-E and Midjourney. We’re human, and we’re hard-wired to enjoy novelty.However, a word of warning: for all the current love of the fantastical, the pendulum will quickly swing back as more brands pile in, attempting to out-do one another through ever more absurd activations. Our advice? If you’re not a first-mover in these arenas, don’t join the trailing crowd for the fear of missing out. Moncler: A Case for Going Against The GrainTaking quite a literal approach to ‘Luxury Leads, Never Follows’, Moncler’s latest ‘Genius’ event has been heralded as the antithesis of quiet luxury.Though we have own our qualms with the term, the consensus definition is one that that stresses the importance of product quality over rich brand storytelling. The concept emerged alongside widespread reluctance among affluents to flaunt wealth — adjacent language choices include ‘stealth wealth’ and ‘anti-ostentation’ — becoming a style coveted by many beyond the exclusivity of the fashion realm.However, hushed and muted tones haven’t been enough to stave off a luxury crisis. A self-inflicted one according to expert columnist Danial Langer. The heart of the issue, Langer surmises, is one we lament time and time again in the Matter Of Form studio: a severe lack of emotional storytelling.“In 2018, I stopped the fashion show and started Genius because the world was changing, and I realised I had to change my approach too” – Remo Ruffini, Chairman & CEO of MonclerAnd change they did. The latest iteration of which was held in Shanghai, to much anticipation, and the first since Moncler’s London Olympia event in 2023. This time, the French brand tapped ten designers to imagine neighbourhoods that form a ‘City of Genius’.The 32,000-square-meter space — spanning over four football fields — featured a Palm Angels racetrack, a JIL SANDER runway show, a Rick Owens installation, a Nigo x Mercedes-Benz collaboration, and pavilions by Donald Glover, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Willow Smith, and A$AP Rocky.The cultural capital from these events alone set Moncler apart, not to mention the blend of local and global through choice of host cities and the nature of a travelling exhibition. The sense of spectacle breeds both brand affinity and commercial success, a clear demonstration that convention is boring and extravagance pays, especially when it’s done through experience. Burberry: A Case for Unwavering Brand RootsDespite its rich history, Burberry found itself struggling by the mid-2010s. Market saturation, shifting consumer preferences, and intense competition from both high-end and streetwear brands had diluted its distinct identity, causing a downward spiral in both revenue and brand prestige. In 2018, recognising a need for radical change, the brand appointed Riccardo Tisci as its new Chief Creation Officer.With a bold vision, Tisci aimed to bridge the brand’s rich heritage with contemporary appeal, redefining the brand’s aesthetic by blending classic British elements with edgier, more diverse styles. Along with the activities expected in the process of brand revival, Burberry has also found itself dedicated to its roots in increasingly unexpected ways.The brand wove deeper meaning into Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Met Gala attire, through a poem on his overcoat’s inner lining. The outfit was by the story of John Ystumllyn, the first Black gardener in Wales in the 1700s, and the poem, Alex Wharton’s ‘The Gardener’, was inspired by Ystumllyn’s life. The small detail added a subtle but powerful poignance to the ‘Garden of Time’ theme and incorporated cultural significance and history into a light branded moment.Punting for more obvious forms of Britishness, Burberry has also turned to leveraging food in their marketing. Recently, the brand launched a campaign featuring British icons, including Oscar-winning actress Olivia Coleman, supermodel Cara Delavingne and Chelsea football star Cole Palmer, making a cup of tea. In doing so, they’ve connected the semiotics of making a tea with their proud British heritage and encouraged debate on the parameters of a perfect cuppa — which, as any Brit can attest, can descend into anarchy.By combining emotive and meaningful micro-moments with light-hearted cultural hits, Burberry is proving that abandoning the brand during downturns is the worst thing to do. Renewal doesn’t happen overnight, think of it as a slow dance.Trust Your Gut. Let The Brand Lead.Aside from price points, luxury is about intangible value creation. Yet, the nature of testing experiential ideas or putting a monetary value on them is a difficult one. Luxury is emotional. And sometimes — brace yourselves numbers people — you just have to trust your instincts. Stay informed obviously, but ultimately your best arbiter of value is whether whatever you’re planning to do feels right for the brand.Your brand will dictate a trend’s relevance. Listen to it. But also know that remaining still and grounded as the trend cycles churn, staying rooted in craft and founding spirit, can do just as much for your business as going viral.Matter Of Form specialises in brand strategy, CX and digital innovation for timeless brands. We know what it is to craft long-termism. It starts with a strong founding spirit and then weaving that into every part of the brand experience, ‘trendy’ or otherwise. To discover how we might help you design what’s next, get in touch with one of our consultants via hello@matterofform.com. On average, luxury prices are up 32 per cent since 2019. Creative directors are playing musical chairs. Q3 results are down. The industry’s grappling. When the going gets tough, it’s easy to look for short-term wins, which in luxury fashion, often comes in the form of trends. But, if longevity and legacy are the goal, can trends really help brands achieve timeless status?

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