Branding: The Hipster Cycle

At the surface, a brand is a name: a collection of letters that holds a certain meaning and is recognized for a specific reason. But beneath the surface, that name stands for more than just a product; it represents a lifestyle, a way of thinking, an image, a belief, a personality, a culture. These representations affect us constantly in our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not, because the recognizability and connotations of the brands we associate ourselves with in turn represent who we are as unique individuals. 

Our generation has always been and will always be driven by the human urge to be accepted in society, and it is my firm belief that that urge has become so influential in our lives due to the rapid proliferation of branding in the last century. Even if a person claims to take no part in what he might call the "mainstream bottomless pit" that is branding, it still affects that person because he is constantly being judged by society for his choices. In fact, the choice to avoid mainstream culture has itself become a culture, and one that has created and fed a huge number of "hipster" brands. 

The hipster movement is a perfect example of relevancy in branding. As it has become more and more apparent to consumers through constant exposure to media and advertising that our lives are being controlled by brands, it has become more and more appealing to dismiss what the media has decided is trendy and instead choose the offbeat and unexpected route in order to distinguish yourself from the crowd. But since this is precisely the point of branding, to make something stand out from the rest, it has quickly become mainstream to avoid the mainstream. Thus begins the never-ending cycle of relevance: that which has been distinguished slowly becomes indistinguishable until something new gains popularity. Because of this cycle, brands must work harder than ever to keep up with the continuous fluctuation of "cool" in society. 

But I think the really successful brands, the ones that become the faces of new distinguished Things, are the ones that decide for themselves what that next Thing is going to be. I truly believe that it is impossible to completely escape the influence of branding, and the brands that find something that makes escape seem possible are the ones that soon become the most relevant, and the absolute dictators of their own situations, and ultimately of their own cultures. Dietmar Dahmen taught us that asking "Why?" detriments a company, and asking "Why not?" skyrockets a company to the top. The same concept applies to brands. It is The Hipster Cycle, and it's still spinning. And as far as I can tell from my four whole class periods of education on the subject, it does not intend on slowing down.

-Saige