Making a brand young again isn't doing TikTok dances
Originally written in Chinese. Translated with AI, reviewed by Gary. Read the Chinese original →
Lately I keep seeing a certain kind of content, along the lines of "my dad told me to do marketing".
I actually really like this kind of content, and I find it funny. From a marketing point of view, it does create great awareness. Lots of people who'd never heard of your brand suddenly know who you are, because it's fun and it makes them laugh.
But once the awareness is out there, then what?
Often people only remember a vague impression: oh, that's the brand with the funny boss, or the company whose founder is great at making content. That's not a bad thing. But from a branding point of view, the point isn't whether people have seen you. It's whether, after watching, they understand more clearly who you are, what you sell and what you stand for.
Making a brand young again doesn't mean doing TikTok dances or copying whatever young people like just so they'll know you. Rejuvenation is using something to let young people get to know your brand all over again.
PUMA and Coach
PUMA has been a great example these past few years.
PUMA relaunched the Speedcat and brought in Rosé. It didn't ask Rosé to dance, and it didn't force out viral content. What it really said was: PUMA isn't the slightly dated sports brand you remember. Young people can wear PUMA too. PUMA can be fashionable, street, and part of how young people dress.
The Speedcat was already a product in PUMA's archive, with motorsport, racing and F1 in its DNA. But PUMA didn't just pull out an old shoe and sell it again. It put it into a context young people understand today: low profile, thin sole, retro, sporty, and then, through an ambassador like Rosé, let young people take another look at PUMA.
That isn't just hiring a celebrity to sell product. It's a brand being understood again by young people.
Coach is a similar example. Many people used to see Coach as mature and old-fashioned, even the kind of bag their mum's generation would buy. But in recent years Coach has put itself back into young people's lives through the Tabby, the Brooklyn, bag charms and younger styling.
It didn't lose itself to look young. It's still Coach: leather, bags, craft, classic design. It just told its brand story again in a way young people understand, want to photograph and want to share.
Pandering, or being rediscovered?
The difference is huge.
One is pandering to young people. The other is letting young people rediscover you.
Pandering means copying whatever young people like. Being rediscovered means you already have your own brand assets, and you're finding a new way to express them.
adidas Samba, New Balance 550, UGG and Crocs all follow similar logic. They didn't turn things around by dancing. They put their existing brand assets back into young people's lives and culture.
The core of rejuvenating a brand isn't the brand becoming young.
It's the brand letting young people understand it again.
Many brands don't lack a story or a product. Their story is just told in an outdated way, and their product hasn't been placed in today's consumers' lives.
Content can be funny, it can go viral, the founder can appear in it. None of that is a problem. But in the end you still have to ask: after watching, what do people actually remember?
If people only remember that you're funny, that's awareness.
If people start to understand your brand, your product and your positioning, and are even willing to buy, that's branding.
The most important thing in brand positioning isn't doing what Gen Z likes just to please Gen Z.
It's using your own brand assets to let Gen Z get to know who you are, all over again.