Which Brands Will Emerge as the Next Netflix, Apple and Facebook?

Little is surprising about the 2011 Breakaway Brands list, which credits millennial giants like Facebook, Skype and Netflix with the most meaningful growth in brand strength over the past three years.

What is intriguing, however, is how the prototype of a rapidly-growing brand could be due to transform in the very near future.

The 2011 version of Landor’s list, which tracks how roughly 2500 brands have strengthened over the three preceding years, was predictably kind to technology. As concepts like streaming, smart phones, social media, e-commerce and Internet shopping became societal fixtures, brands like Netflix, Samsung, Skype, Apple and Amazon.com become dominant components of the zeitgeist.

For brands, modern is king

The top eight spots on Landor’s chart belong to technology companies, with Reese’s and the National Guard representing the only non-tech brands in the top ten. From chart-leader Facebook to eighth-place-finisher Amazon, those who have been at the forefront of revolutions in how society communicates—and, quite frankly, achieves its day-to-day goals—naturally have emerged as those brands with cachet.

Going forward, one would logically expect extensions of the latest technology revolution to make noteworthy strides in brand strength. Now that customers have a baseline "attachment" to concepts like social media and "smart" cellular communication, those who enhance or re-define the user experience should make waves.

And, to an extent, that forecast is certainly proving true. Earlier this week, Wibe Wagemans, senior vice president of brand advertising and analytics for Rovio, claimed his company, which developed the popular "Angry Birds" game franchise, is the fastest-growing consumer brand in history.

"Angry Birds," though far from a landmark in game development in its own right, has attracted more than a hundred million users by virtue of its presence on the mobile devices and Internet/social channels customers have come to accept as fixtures.

But the surge of interest in online and technology brands is not the whole story. According to Landor’s report, there is another type of brand on the cusp of significant growth in the coming years—one that does not rely so heavily on the Internet.

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Once good, forever great?

Of the study's five "brands to watch," three are veteran consumer brands known for providing value. They are not necessarily "hip" or tech-savvy; they are simply brands that have developed trusting relationships with millions of consumers.

The philosophies driving those brands—Wolfgang Puck, Shout and Michelin—are simple and everlasting, and in that sense, differ from what made trendy terms like "Netflix" and "Skype" into household names.

"Wolfgang Puck stands for hospitality and an everyday passion for food: from a fine dinner at Spago to a gourmet frozen pizza heated at home to a meal handmade with branded cookware," explain Landor’s Mich Bergesen and Josey Lee. "While criticized by some for diluting the premium value of its brand as a result of its rapid expansion in casual dining, cookware, and packaged food, Wolfgang Puck’s wide accessibility has also made the company more relevant to a greater breadth of customers."

Landor attributes Michelin’s strengthening brand to sensibility—amid tough economic times and rising gas prices, Michelin has focused on fuel-efficient tires that do not compromise a commitment to safety.

Quality, meanwhile, is king for Shout—"Despite its premium pricing, customers have responded to the simple message that Shout fights stains better so their family’s clothes last longer," notes Landor.

The trend towards veteran, consumer-friendly brands is not limited to those particularly-successful companies identified in the Breakaway Brands report.

Adapting to stay relevant

As culture modernizes and communication becomes more expansive and pivotal, those at the forefront of technology are not the only brands capable of reaping the rewards. With greater opportunities for visibility and a greater likelihood of word-of-mouth support, veteran brands can become contemporarily-relevant brands if they adapt their value proposition.

Iconic carmaker Fiat, for example, is making a big push to re-establish itself as an inexpensive pathway to casual elegance. An aggressive new ad campaign promotes the lifestyle associated with the Italian brand, while Jennifer Lopez’s new music video "Papi"—far more likely, in 2011, to be viewed in sharable online media than a music channel—heavily features the company’s 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio.

Value automaker Hyundai, meanwhile, continues to show why it ranks as the only auto company in the top 25 of Brand Keys’ Top-100 Loyalty Leaders. Having made the improvements in quality and resale value needed to escape its "cheap crap" stigma, Hyundai has further made waves by introducing high-end models like the Equus and Genesis. Even if they do not sell well in their own right, they help establish Hyundai as a quality car company that happens to give you more value, rather than as a value car company that occasionally delivers on the quality front.

Over the past year, Miracle Whip has tried to add life to a fairly straightforward product—using a combination of new and traditional media, the infamous spread proudly touts, "We’re not for everyone." The campaign places as much focus (if not more) on the detractors as it does on the supporters, building a loyalty network around its product while spurring curiosity about how a simple condiment can be so polarizing.

Recently, Zagat also entered the race. Purchased by Google, the restaurant guide many "foodies" look to as an authority on the dining experience, assuming the buyer keeps the branding intact, is poised to garner the online prominence held by brands like Yelp and OpenTable.

Even if their most famous products have been "dated" by current technology, veteran brands are not necessarily crippled in modern times. If they organically weave their image into contemporary culture, they can assure their years of hard work were not in vein. The brand can benefit from a "new life," even in a time when escaping the status quo is what has helped millennial brands make an impact.

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