What’s the Nike Swoosh worth? How about Micky Mouse? or the Peacock? the Golden Arches? the Target? the white headphone cables?
Finding the right icon can make an immeasurable difference on the bottom line. And every once in a while the difference is thrillingly measurable. According to Patrick Hanlon’s Primal Branding, the Lance Armstrong Foundation sold more than 42 million one-dollar yellow bracelets inside a year.
Picking up on the yellow Tour de France leader jersey Lance Armstrong captured so frequently on the race course, propelled by his compelling story as a cancer survivor, promoted heavily by Nike, the right look and feel at the right moment — lots of factors converged to transform that yellow plastic loop into an icon.
And then it was over. In the flood of colored bracelets that followed, only the One Campaign bracelet seems to have succeeded with a credible appropriation of the form factor. Pretty much every other use came off as monkey-see monkey-do.
The yellow bracelet icon didn’t last long. But it generated 42 million dollars for the fight against cancer.
You may work your product forever without finding anything more iconic than your name. Then again, the breakthrough potential makes it worth the work to forge a great icon.
How much is it worth? Well…what is the Rock of Gilbralter worth? How about the Good Hands? the Star of David? the Crescent Moon? the Cross? the Statue of Liberty? the Eiffel Tower? the Golden Gate Bridge? Big Ben? the Sydney Opera House? the Olympic Rings? …
(And just to get it on the table, we don’t think we have it yet at InsideWork — but we’re working on it…)
