Published: 01 June 2022
Location: London, UK
This weekend the United Kingdom will be celebrating Her Majesty The Queen becoming the first British Monarch after 70 years of service. To celebrate this, Why Media will be looking back at some of the biggest brands of the last 70 years, but which ones have stood the test of time, and why?
Mcdonald’s (1955)
Opening in 1955, McDonald’s has over 34,000 outlets in 126 countries. The key to McDonald's success is 3 things. Firstly, the consistency as regardless of wherever you are in the world, you will receive a similar experience in McDonald’s. Secondly, innovation. While maintaining consistency, McDonald's is able to keep customers on their toes with constant product innovations. Finally, resilience. Perhaps the biggest reason McDonald’s has been a success for so long is its ability to weather storms. Though the trajectory for McDonald's has been primarily upward throughout its existence, the company has had to weather several challenges and controversies and still has continued growth as a brand.
Opening in 1955, McDonald’s has over 34,000 outlets in 126 countries.
Topshop - (1964)
The legacy of Topshop’s women's fashion chain started in Sheffield and London in 1964. The aim was to sell fashion made by young British designers. In 1974, parent company Burton Group made Topshop a standalone store. Within two years, the brand’s primary target market became 13 to 24-year-olds, it opened 55 standalone stores and garnered £1 million in profit. The brand was so successful that Burton launched its male equivalent Topman, in 1978. However, it all went wrong in recent years when more people started to shop online, the chairman of the retail company (Sir Philip Green) failed to invest in digital retail channels leaving them unable to compete with competitors. As a result, in September 2020 Topshop went into administration.
Apple (1976)
Apple was founded in April 1976. Apple's success lies in a strategic vision that transcended simple desktop computing to include mobile devices and wearables. Both performance and design are key drivers of the Apple brand and its ongoing success.
Blockbuster (1985)
With a huge high street presence and intense customer loyalty, Blockbuster really was a household name. By failing to innovate with digital technologies, its high rents and overheads started to lose ground to DVD postal services. In addition to this, due to the market position Blockbuster had the opportunity to purchase the fledgling company Netflix, they offered to sell 49% share of the business and take on the blockbuster name. With a chance to buy Netflix on a couple of occasions and their decision not to, Blockbuster clearly never envisioned a future for streaming. Therefore Blockbuster failed to innovate and went into administration in 2010.
Amazon (1994)
Amazon started its first year in operation in 1994 and the reason for its ongoing success is due to its high-quality customer experience. They offer reasonable prices, reliable shipping, a wide variety of product options, and safety while shopping and they cater their products on display to each individual consumer.
MySpace (2003)
MySpace, a website that was once the dominating social networking until Facebook came onto the scene. In 2005, MySpace CEO (Chris DeWolfe) met up with Facebook founder to discuss business together. Chris was offered to sell Facebook to MySpace for $75 million, which Chris said no to. Because of the growth of Facebook, MySpace started seeing a decline in its users.
Therefore by 2009, MySpace failed as a brand because of rising competition and a poor and inconsistent product.
Netflix (2012)
With more than 200 million paid members, Netflix is incredibly successful because they know exactly what their customers want, when they want it and on what device. Also, the company is courageous enough to keep changing its business model into the most optimal future and they’re not afraid to cannibalise its current business model.
From evaluating the success and failures of some of the biggest brands in the world over the last 7 decades, it is clear to see that those brands that failed to innovate have reached a stage where their brand is no longer successful. However, those brands that experienced innovation success and have grabbed onto it seem to be their secret to ongoing success.
TikTok (2016)
With over 1 billion active users globally and over 3 billion downloads, TikTok is now a household mane across the globe seeing a significant surge in users from March 2020 as individuals took to the video app as a form of fun entertainment during the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app overtaking competing giants Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp. However, did you know that TikTok was actually founded way back in 2016? Although 25% of active users are under the age of 19, the app is seeing a huge spike in those aged 30-49 creating accounts and actively posting content.
2022 has seen a significant rise in businesses taking to TikTok to raise the profile of their business, drive online engagement and even recruit. One current campaign which has taken the UK by storm is Bingley Mega Chippy, a Coventry chip shop which has gone beyond viral thanks to their TikTok presence, even seeing travellers take a 2000 mile detour on their trip to visit the chippy!
Why Media is an award-winning design, marketing, digital communications and PR agency offering tailored solutions to companies on a global scale. We have extensive experience in delivering design and marketing services to a spectrum of companies, including professional services, property companies, financial institutions and shopping centres. We have offices in London UK, Hertford UK, Finestrat, Spain & Brescia, Italy.
Marketing Contact
Name: Claire White
E-Mail: claire@whymedia.com
Telephone: 020 3007 6002
