24 Jan Gary’s goat brands
I have no doubt that different generations will have different choices of GOAT brands but I have selected mine on the basis of being ahead of their times, brand memorability and brand resilience. Each of my GOAT brands can also be described as charismatic brands – brands which cannot be easily copied or substituted.
Here’s my GOAT brands with an attempt at describing why I admire them. So much. I say ‘attempt’ because it’s mostly about how I feel about them.
MANCHESTER UNITED
A decade or more after the tragedy, I heard about how a plane crash in 1958 had decimated the Busby Babes. And then I started noticing the likes of Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton and the genius but troubled George Best. It was like the fictitious ‘Roy Of The Rovers’ comic strip in my weekly magazine Tiger had come to life.
My ‘connect’ with MU grew when they won the UEFA Cup at about the same time as I ‘discovered’ them. They’ve tasted incredible success and endured years of failure but are on the up again.
I’m not sure if they’re the reason why Sherpa’s primary colours ended up being red but they certainly stand out. There’s this attraction around the red of MU.
Throughout their ups and downs, the aura of the MU brand has remained for me. But not for Man City and Liverpool fans which proves the point – you can’t be all things to all people!
APPLE
I don’t have an Apple (Sherpa’s designers and developers do) yet Apple ranks highly amongst my GOAT brands.
Perhaps it’s their aversion to emphasising tech specs. Maybe it’s about the ‘magic’ of the Apple experience, even though the technology is not really magical. How it feels to have Apple in your business. How the designers associate so closely with the product. The simplicity of it ‘It just works’.
I do however find it difficult to dissociate Apple and Steve Jobs who still informs much of my thinking. He was way ahead of his time, a genius who understood what brands were all about.
Like many folks watch certain movies repeatedly, I’m often drawn to the now grainy THINK DIFFERENT – HERE’S TO THE CRAZY ONE’S presentation by the maestro.
SPUR
Why do visiting expats make Spur part of their homecoming visit? Childhood experiences? The aroma? A sense of family?
Like most of you, I have sensory fine dining experiences, but I will still go to Spur. Admittedly a “let’s go to Spur” appeal does result in “No dad, grow up!” rebukes from the kids but it remains a GOAT brand for me!
Gary Hendrickse
CEO Sherpa Brand & Design
gary@sherpa.co.za
Sherpa.co.za
