If you are a skincare or cosmetics fan of a certain age, that elusive thing of a “millenial”, then you’ll probably know what that photo is of. It’s an icon.
To most people, it’ll look like a semi-transparent, pink bubble wrap wallet.
If you’re in the know, then there were probably excited squeals. And that was before you got to the sheet of stickers and the actual product. But Glossier, darling of the beauty world at the moment, has made that pink bubble wrap wallet its own.
Simple.
Probably quite a cheap choice in the early days.
Consistent.
Not just sending pink ones with every order, rather than switching colours around, but also consistent with the rest of their branding. And possibly part of why Glossier managed to raise $86m in funding in the last three years.
So, what are the icons of your business?
You might think it odd for a freelance writer to ask you about icons. They tend not to be thought of as words, they are more often things. They are not always logos, though they might be.
They could be colours. There’s a certain shade of duck egg blue combined with a white ribbon that says jewellery. No name needed.The icons of your brand could be anything.
They’re interesting though as part of your brand story. Thinking about the Glossier bubble wrap, there’s probably a whole myth grown up around them. Glossier fans will know that story, and tell that story. Truly, that’s advocacy in action, and is an admirable goal to aim for.
So, what have you got to work with?
More than words
Your icon might well be a thing. It might be a person. But it will have a story. This is where your words come in, because this is where you can do your story telling.
Don’t spend the time investing in creating an icon if you don’t go on to amplify it with the story. The story of the interlocking C’s of Chanel. The Nike swoosh. There are stories behind these and people love to know them. It makes them feel like they’ve got the inside track.
You don’t have to be a massive global brand to have, or to tell, a great story. Everything is a building block to your story, so I would urge you to make the most of each one.
What will your icon be? Or have you created something already that people would identify your business from? What’s your story?
