I just finished reading Mitch Joel’s book Ctrl Alt Delete. It is a great read. I highly recommend it. The main point of the book is that we are currently going through a time of tremendous change and upheaval in business due to technology. Consumers are now more connected, more informed, creating and sharing more. They’re smart and getting smarter. Businesses, brands and people are having a difficult time adapting to this new world. During this period of change many jobs and businesses will disappear but at the same many new businesses will be started successfully creating many new and different jobs.
One of the growing trends that Joel identifies in this time of change is the rise of the Indie Brand. These are brands that are started by entrepreneurs that are independently funded and they have an independent spirit. These are brands that make use of storytelling as their primary form of marketing… not advertising. They also make smart use of the available marketing channels. These brands that are started out of pure passion.
In the past few months, I have written about several Independent Brands that are making a difference. These include Douglas Sweets, John Robinson and Our Ability, Innocent, Method, Albany Distilling and Adirondack Creamery to name a few. Many of the these have customer-focused purpose where giving back or improving the world we live in is as important as making money. This is a welcome trend.
Amsterdam Communications professional Anneloes van Galen has published a book on the rise of independent brands on a global basis. The book is called “Indie Brands – 30 Independent Brands That Inspire and Tell a Story”. I am looking forward to reading this book in the near future.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing the stories of these brands.
MDH Mark D Hogan 