I’m reading Bogusky and Windsor’s Baked In and, while frequently meh, the book does sport some wisdom. The crux in my opinion is this:

“[A] brand’s products and marketing not only tell the same story but also have a deep connection to culture and the flexibility to be extraordinary.”

This got me thinking about how brands have existed throughout time, active within a culture. Particularly, one of my favorite: Budweiser.

[Disclosure: Budweiser is a client. In 2010, I completed quite a bit of content strategy for their website redesign and even dug around for a few days in their St. Louis archives.]

What can we learn from brands like Budweiser; brands that have been cultural landmarks for over a century? And what can these classic brands portend for the future?

Early Days
From roughly the industrial revolution through, say, the 1950s, brands offered consistency. They communicated to consumers that this product would be the same each and every time; they stressed dependability.

As Budweiser gained in popularity with this new light lager, imitators tried to encroach on their territory. Adolphus Busch fought this infringement – very much protecting his good name against these inferior products.

The Budweiser brand stressed consistency in these early days, but prohibition ended consumers’ ability to remain loyal. And a funny thing happened – American beer drinkers got used to the sweeter taste of illegally-produced “bathtub” beer.

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