What Makes a Good Heritage Branding Example?
Research on corporate heritage organisations names several typical traits (Balmer, 2013):
- Ubiquity: the brand is widely present and known.
- Consistent core values and characteristics over time.
- A three-generation legacy: a consistent image and reputation built among three generations of customers or stakeholders, roughly 50 years.
- An extended role identity: the brand plays meaningful roles in different eras.
- Continued usefulness for stakeholders across generations.
- Persistent leadership: the heritage is managed continuously.
Examples of Heritage Brands and Brands with Heritage
The examples below come from research on “corporate brands with a heritage” (Urde et al., 2007). In everyday language, such companies are also often called legacy brands.
Patek Philippe, the Swiss luxury watchmaker, is a classic heritage brand. Its identity is built on tradition and pedigree, and its slogan says it directly: “You never own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation” (Urde et al., 2007).
TAG Heuer is a useful contrast. It also has a long history, but it presents itself as modern and avant-garde (“Swiss avant-garde since 1860”). It mentions its founding year but focuses on innovation, so it is more of a brand with heritage than a pure heritage brand (Urde et al., 2007).
John Lewis, the British retailer, is one of the best-researched corporate heritage brands. Its name and symbol carry the company’s long history, and customers link them with quality and trust (Sammour et al., 2020a) – more on this in Benefits of Heritage Branding below. At the same time, John Lewis shows that a heritage brand can innovate while keeping a continuous identity (Sammour et al., 2020b).
The British monarchy is used in research as an example of an institution acting as a corporate heritage brand: it stands for continuity over time. This shows that heritage branding is not limited to commercial products (Balmer, 2011).
Adidas shows that history alone is not enough – it has to be managed. A company’s past can play a neutral or even negative role if no one understands, organises and archives it. Being aware of its history and identity helped Adidas change its strategy successfully and improve its results. Later, the company set up a special history management department, which turned this approach into a permanent practice (Iglesias et al., 2020). Adidas is also one of the five brands in my own research – see Research Notes.
COOP (formerly FDB), the Danish consumer cooperative, shows how heritage can turn from an asset into a burden. Its heritage was built in 1896-1910 on Danish values of equality, solidarity and community. For decades this worked well: until the 1970s, COOP closely linked its brand to national identity – for example, by using Danish national symbols in its advertising after Denmark’s liberation in 1945. Globalisation, changing values and stronger competition then changed the picture. The same values began to limit the company’s flexibility, and part of the audience saw them as outdated. When COOP bought the discount chain Fakta in 1987 or closed unprofitable shops in small towns, critics saw it as a betrayal of its own promise to support local communities (Sørensen et al., 2018). How to deal with such risks is covered in Heritage Brand Marketing Strategy.
Some young companies borrow, leave out or invent parts of their past to look historically rooted – so-called invented corporate heritage brands (Brunninge, 2023). More on this in What Is a Heritage Brand?
Benefits of Heritage Branding
Authenticity and trust: a brand that keeps the same core traits over time looks real – it has “stood the test of time”. Stakeholders such as customers, employees and partners respond to this consistency with trust and loyalty (Balmer, 2011, 2013).
Higher perceived value: consumers link visible heritage with quality and reliability, and many are willing to pay more for it. In a fast-changing market, a “genuine history” works as a sign that a brand can be relied on (Wiedmann et al., 2011; Wuestefeld et al., 2012).
Premium price: heritage works as a quality signal and reduces uncertainty – especially for brands that consumers do not know yet (Pecot et al., 2018).
Nostalgia and emotional attachment: heritage communication can increase trust and trigger personal nostalgia. A brand that has been part of someone’s family or culture for decades becomes more than a product choice, and this supports loyalty across generations (Hudson & Balmer, 2013; Pecot et al., 2019).
Strong recognition of signature elements: heritage elements such as a logo or a name can create strong engagement because they bring up the brand’s story directly. Customers link them with quality and trust, and deeply engaged stakeholders may resist even a change of the logo’s colour or shape (Sammour et al., 2020a).
Risks and Disadvantages of Heritage Branding
Negative Heritage Brand Equity
Heritage can turn from an asset into a burden, as the COOP example above shows. Researchers call this negative heritage brand equity: the historical story no longer helps the brand, but holds it back (Sørensen et al., 2018).
Inauthentic or Artificial Heritage
If heritage claims seem fake, too artificial or implausible, consumers may become sceptical and challenge them (Rindell et al., 2015; Brunninge, 2023). More on this in What Is a Heritage Brand?
Innovation Can Conflict with Continuity
A strong focus on long history and the “original” product can make consumers judge improved products more harshly (Han et al., 2021). When this happens and how to avoid it is explained in Heritage Brand Marketing Strategy.
Who Needs Heritage Branding?
Heritage branding pays off for companies that are ready to make their heritage a central part of their identity and strategy, not just mention their age. They usually do it for the competitive advantages heritage can bring: authenticity, trust and a rich brand story (Urde et al., 2007).
Family businesses can use their history to bring strategy and identity back in line – for example by adjusting old stories, giving them a modern look or creating new ones (Bövers & Hoon, 2021).
Long-standing public institutions can also act as corporate heritage brands, as the British monarchy example above shows (Balmer, 2011).
Who Should Be Careful with Heritage Branding?
Young brands without a real history: invented heritage can raise questions about trust and accuracy (Brunninge, 2023).
Brands in fast-changing industries: not all managers there believe in heritage. Some see it as a strategic asset, others as a possible obstacle (Rindell & Strandvik, 2021).
Brands with a problematic or outdated historical story: they need to check whether their heritage still works today, as the COOP example shows (Sørensen et al., 2018).
FAQ
What are examples of heritage brands? Patek Philippe is the classic heritage brand; TAG Heuer is a brand with heritage (Urde et al., 2007). See Examples of Heritage Brands and Brands with Heritage above.
Are there British heritage brands? Yes – research often uses John Lewis and the British monarchy as examples (Balmer, 2011; Sammour et al., 2020a).
Can heritage branding hurt innovation? Yes, if innovation breaks the feeling of continuity (Han et al., 2021).
Sources
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Bövers, J., & Hoon, C. (2021). Surviving disruptive change: The role of history in aligning strategy and identity in family businesses. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 12(4), 100391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2020.100391
Han, M., Newman, G. E., Smith, R. K., & Dhar, R. (2021). The curse of the original: How and when heritage branding reduces consumer evaluations of enhanced products. Journal of Consumer Research, 48(4), 709-730. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucab028
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