8: Case Studies
The author means to illustrate his concept by means of three case studies: Warby Parker, Hendrick's, and Squarespace. He admits these are small companies, as many of the legendary firms are shrouded in their own mythology and it's difficult to tell fact from fiction. It's also difficult to determine in a large firm exactly what was done by whom.
(EN: This is not a particularly good chapter - the first case study is fairly well done, but the second fizzles and the third never quite gets off the ground. Moreover, it's a great deal of speculation about what went on inside firms based on what is seen on the outside.)
Warby Parker
Warby Parker is a retailer of eyewear (glasses and sunglasses) that was founded by a group of students who found the price of eyeglasses to be utterly outrageous. Given that the industry is largely dominated by one manufacturer (Luxottica), they felt the opportunity was there, but were cautious of other firms that had failed in the attempt to sell cheaper eyeglasses online.
One key decision was to avoid starting lean. There were many examples of firms that attempted to go to market with a minimum viable product (MVP) and expected to grow afterward - but in many instances the MVP was too minimum for the market to accept and the firms failed before they had a chance to take root.
They also recognized that while their chief complaint was the cost of glasses, it was not advisable to simply focus on price because eyeglasses are such a high-anxiety purchase: it's something that people wear on their face every day, an expression of their personality and style - so the brand had to have a look and feel people would connect with.
It's mentioned that the company took a year and a half to define its brand: the conversation focused on a wonder wall of "inspiration pictures" and discussions about whether it was better to be seen as avant-garde or vintage, luxurious or thrifty, etc. The example is given of when the team spent an hour debating over one photo and whether it fit the brand they wanted to create. It wasn't just images of products, but of vintage bicycles and exotic birds, that made it onto the wall. The name of itself is whimsical - it sounds a bit literary and stylish but still light-hearted - this, too, was the result of many hours of debate.
It was also decided that the firm would create its own product rather than resell other brand - there were a few competitors who owned that space and sold outdated and overstocked styles from other manufacturers at prices that would be difficult to match. Since the brand wanted to be distinctive and offbeat, it couldn't sell the same products or even mimic the style of the major brands.
A few other odd or unique practices are mentioned:
- Charitable Giving - The "buy a pair, give a pair" practice is not a short-term program but an ongoing practice of donating a pair of glasses to charity for every pair sold, making people feel that buying the brand makes them socially responsible.
- At-Home Try-On - Elevates the brand over other retailers who will not undertake the expense to ship frames to prospective customers. They also have a "virtual try-on" that enables people to do this by superimposing images of lenses over their faces and sharing these images on social media.
- Product Placement - Getting celebrities to wear their glasses rather than simply endorse them gave the brand exposure and a sense of authenticity.
- Retail Experience - The design of stores is meant to mimic the appearance of a private library or independent bookstore, connecting the product to intellectualism (while other brands attempted to shun the stereotype)
- Offering a Monocle - Whiel it's highly unlikely the firm sells many monocles, the product is featured prominently on their website and in their stores to create an "old-fashioned, dapper feel" for the brand.
There are a few closing remarks that suggest the brand created a "planet" for itself and created a personality as strong as that of a real person - but this is mere posturing without supporting evidence.
Hendrick's Gin
For many years, gin was regarded as "your grandfather's drink" by younger customers, but the product has experienced a revival with a lighter blend and various flavor additions. The author credits Hendrick's as the label that recognized the trend and led the charge, though other brands piled on behind them.
The company recognized that gin had a history that was associated to Victorian England and the era of prohibition in America - so along with the stodginess, the product also carries with it a sense of begin high-class and a bit rebellious, the character of the wealthy rascal.
Hendrick's started with the product itself: its harsh flavor was not popular with young drinkers, so they dialed back the traditional flavoring (juniper) and added lighter flavorings such as cucumber and rose petal. They kept the apothecary-style bottle and maintained other Victorian imagery in their collateral, though in a more whimsical way (think Monty Python animations). The sense of being "old timey" played well with the young hipsters, who were already bringing back anachronisms such as waxed moustaches and pinstripe vests.
From here, the author seems to take a more disorganized approach that merely expounds upon what's been said about the quirky anachronism of the brand. There's an interesting bit about the inauthenticity of the brand matching the inauthenticity of its target market: the hipster crowd is irreverent and disorganized in taking bits and pieces of the past and reviving them in a desperate attempt to be trendy, and Hendrick's is doing exactly the same with its brand. This shows that authenticity is not always important to a brand, particularly when it is not important to the market.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a low-end website hosting company for individuals who wish to have a personal site to host their blog, portfolio, or other content. There are many players in this same space that offers shake-and-bake websites based on templates that anyone can edit with easy-to-use tools, and the author feels this firm has carved out a niche for itself.
What distinguishes Squarespace is its trendiness - the firm works to keep its templates up to date with the latest fashions in web design. Whereas most firms focus on easy, they make it easy to build and ugly site - and because personal websites are personal, this simply does not satisfy the market's demand for having sites that they can take pride in.
What follows is simply a repetition on this theme of being beautiful, elegant, and simple.