We’re doing quite a bit of contemplation these days on brands that are poised for greater success in tougher economic times. The obvious categories with lower prices but high perceived value like confectionery or snack foods are already posting impressive and robust performance, like Cadbury in Europe.

There are a couple of other approaches that have grabbed our attention. The first is what we’re calling Renewable Brands, those that can be enjoyed time and again, in new ways, without having to spend (much) again to do so. The key part to this is being able to renew your engagement with that brand, so it feels fresh. The two that spring immediately to mind are the new Kindle from Amazon and the ubiquitous ipod - both very easy to refresh and renew at low cost. What other examples are out there of renewable brands?

The second is a very simple idea that seems almost revolutionary in its approach - products that are built to last and priced accordingly.  Howies, a UK based sports clothing line have come up with an idea called Hand Me Down. They have a jacket and 3 types of bag right now that are guaranteed for 10 years. The material is more robust, the stiching, zips etc are higher quality and perhaps the best bit…the label has space for the names of 3 owners - encouraging the passing on of the product. The prices are comparatively  high - the jacket is £400 and the bags range from £125-195, but that’s spread out over at least 10 years.

Both ideas are valid, but given the short-term nature of people’s thinking, I’m guessing the ability to refresh and renew is going to perform better than investing in a product that lasts. With the latter, we have to work harder to derive pleasure. What do you think?

I love howies, not only because they make great clothes (I bought a bunch in London when I was there in April - fully worth the price), but also because they have so much belief in what they do. We blogged about them last summer, but now as a proud wearer of their stuff, I feel compelled to keep talking about them.  Their spring catalogue was created with this thought: "we needed some nice sunny weather to shoot our spring/summer catalogue.  But we didn't feel it was right to send a group of people on a plane in search of sun.  So we packed up the clothes in some FedEx boxes and sent them instead". Nice. Mark Earls talks about howies in his book Herd and outlines how their passion and self-belief set them apart from their competitors. It's all based on a fundamental belief in quality. That is hardly earth-shattering, but its founded on the idea that better clothes last longer, meaning less resources taken up with making/buying more of the same…which surely can't be argued.

While howies continue to be a small and successful brand in the UK, I had the same hopes for Nau - a brilliant Portland clothing company which grew quickly based on a similar philosophy to howies.  However, as you can see from the link, it's "Goodbye For Nau" as they wind down their business because they "can't raise the necessary funds to continue to move forward." Nau's closure is sad, because it suggests that their philosophy is one that doesn't fit with a more cautious investment environment. In my opinion, NOT taking their approach is the more risky one. Long live howies and all the best to Nau - let's hope we see you around again in some other form in the not too distant future.

We all know that some of the most successful brands create a sense of belonging - a sense of values and purpose that people can relate to, identify and share. Here’s a great example.

Recently a friend of mine in the UK sent me a catalogue for a brand called howies. Based in a small village in Wales, howies designs and manufactures hip skate/surf/outdoorwear. The clothes are pretty cool, but what made that brand immediately impactful to me was its philosophy which came across in the story of how its summer catalogue was produced. Rather than spend money on flying off to a sunny country and shooting the catalogue on a real beach, the howies team spent the money on building their own eco-t.shirt print shop and used photographs from that project as the backdrop for their catalogue. A completely different and unexpected approach and totally in keeping with their environmental philosophy.

Rather than pay lip service to these ideals, they are truly living them, infusing them at every level of their business and reinforcing the beliefs that represent the core of their brand. Innovative design thoughts like the “car project” where they bought an old aluminum car, stamped 40,000 holes in it and used the metal for fastners on their jeans, speaks to a creative and uncompromising approach to business. Now that’s a brand that I want to be a part of.