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Many companies that
are well on their way to organic iconic status began
by connecting with consumers via their shared
values. For Gary Erickson,
Co-CEO of Clif Bar, this
has been centered on
reaching their customers
where they are and creating a strong, personal relationship with the brand.
In a Wall Street Journal
article he said, “We talk to
people at sports events
such as bike rides,
marathons, decathlons or
skiing where they need
the product. And we tell people to tell their friends.” And it
has worked. From a brand that started as a dream on an arduous 175-mile bike ride in 1990, Clif Bar has continued to
grow (with annual revenue of $235 million) largely through
word of mouth and a lot of roll-up-the-sleeves interaction
with consumers.
PRE, a new health-driven prebiotic organic juice sports
drink company also has found ways to connect to people
with shared values—choosing yoga teachers, soccer moms,
and athletes to be “ambassadors.” Each ambassador receives
free monthly promotional product to share with their community. As a purposeful route to market, they are also
launching the product through schools by sponsoring
booster clubs.
AlterEco sought out an alignment with “O The Oprah
Magazine” to communicate its
message about fair trade.
The T-Shirt Test
So how do you know if you are on the path to becoming
iconic? According to Jatar, a simple, unscientific test to determine if a brand has become iconic is whether a target
consumer would be proud to wear their brand logo on
unrelated products. For example, wearing a Coke logo on a
t-shirt, or putting a Nike swoosh or “Just do it” sticker on
your car. Of course there are many brands that are number
one or number two in their category that do not transcend
into the realm of being an iconic brand, he says. “One sure
sign is when the product itself may be secondary to the
image of the brand,” Jatar adds.
An example of this in the organic industry is illustrated
through Organic Valley’s “Who’s Your Farmer?” campaign
and tour. To reconnect people with those who grow their
food (the co-op’s true purpose), Organic Valley is bringing
young farmers to events across the country to talk about
