How is irrational love created?
Looking at three irrationally loved brands like Coca-Cola, Tide and Target can offer insight into a brand’s irrational-love creation. These brands created a narrative that focused on their category’s unmet needs and consistently advanced and evolved that same narrative over time.
- Launched in the 1930s, Tide was the first detergent to address stain removal. Over time, the brand has kept the narrative going in fresh new ways like 2018’s “It’s a Tide Ad” and 2021’s “Jason Alexander Hoodie” ads.
- Instead of focusing on its formula, Coke has always focused on enabling inclusive experiences that make life better, from “jollifying” Santa Claus in the 1930s to the more recent “Open Happiness” campaign.
- Target was the first retailer to make high-quality experiences accessible to discount shoppers. Over time, they’ve expanded their access and inclusivity-focused DNA to include a wide range initiatives, from barrier-free stores to prioritizing the affordability of beautifully designed products.
The benefits of irrational love
When a brand is irrationally loved, it has a special bond with its fan base. Irrational love gives new products instant credibility. It commands higher prices and higher loyalty. Irrationally loved brands are trusted beyond reproach—which makes it easier for them to weather a storm, as each of these brands have.
You’ll recall: Coke’s most famous brand blunder, New Coke, and its consequent backlash; Tide’s negative coverage following the “Tide Pod Challenge”; and Target’s more recent backpedaling on its Pride Collection. Each of these brands has rebounded quickly and completely in both brand love and business performance.
Can established brands create irrational love?
While existing brands don’t have the luxury of creating a new offering from the ground up, that doesn’t put irrational love out of reach. In fact, fertile white space is likely right in front of them.
Unlike irrationally loved brands, brands that are still outside of the love zone have perceptual deficiencies across audiences—but loyalists love them.