How Brands Innovate: The Principles of Cultural Strategy

An unconventional argument for how companies can grow or revitalize businesses through cultural innovationOutside of tech, companies rarely succeed at growing new businesses or revitalizing stagnant ones, even in the categories in which they are most successful. And the model of innovation that tech firms use is an expensive dead end for everyone else. So how can companies build breakthrough innovations without the advantage of breakthrough technology? In How Brands Innovate, Douglas Holt provides an entirely different way to understand how innovation works from the conventional ideas that dominate in business. He argues that market transformations are pushed forward by culture and society rather than new technology or new products. Holt–one of the world’s leading thinkers and consultants on cultural approaches to branding, business strategy, and innovation–draws on his decades-long experience to show how companies can build innovative new businesses without the advantage of new technology or revitalize businesses that have lost their leading position. Rather than beat competitors within their category, companies like Nike and Starbucks reinvented their categories. Rather than deliver better value, these brands transformed value. And rather than develop a better product, they reimagined their products. For the first time, Holt provides a concise explanation of cultural innovation–the model that details how brands like Nike and Starbucks came to be–and shows exactly how to do cultural innovation, providing a step-by-step model for analysis and then a framework for designing innovations. He draws on his own consulting work to walk readers through successful re-branding, innovations, and strategies with major global corporations like Patagonia, Huawei, and REI.