It’s not true that all brands live forever. Products die and compared to that brands definitely have a significantly lower morality rate. But that does not mean just by having a great name, good image and a mouth-able positioning statement – one brand is guaranteed to live forever. No sir!

 One way to fight back the curse of mortality is to become an “Iconic Brand”.

So, what’s an iconic brand?

Iconic brands are those brands that transcend the natural boundaries set by segmentation and value proposition and install itself in the socio-cultural fabric of the society. Simply speaking iconic brands deal with universal truth – truth that goes way beyond the boundary of men and women, east and west, affluent and financially constrained. And also beyond the boundary of time. Since its universally true, it stays true forever. That’s what makes them universally long-lasting and hence iconic.

Nike deals with the universal truth that human spirit will strive to achieve the impossible even at the face of daunting odds against him. Disney believes that there is a child inside all of us, waiting to break free. Apple believes that technology should be humane, beautiful and emotional.

By associating themselves with these immortal traits these brands transcend the normal boundary of branding – targeting – selling into something much bigger. Something as big as a universal truth. And by doing so, they have guaranteed to appeal to everyone from Alaska to Australia. And they have guaranteed a ticket for themselves to live forever.