The Brand Strategy Behind Gap's Comeback

In its heyday, Target promised affordable, designer style for everyone. Anyone could afford stylish items that were ordinarily available only to those with money for conspicuous consumption. That Alessi teapot could be yours. Target democratized designer style. Henry Ford decided to make a car the general public could afford. He said, 'I will build a motorcar for the great multitude. It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one. When I'm through, everybody will be able to afford one, and everyone will have one and will be able to enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. The horse will have disappeared from our highways, the automobile will be taken for granted, and we will give a large number of men employment at wages.' Henry Ford democratized car ownership and driving. This article is part of Branding Strategy Insider's FREE newsletter. Join the world's smartest marketers and subscribe here for actionable insights delivered directly to your inbox. McDonald's democratized eating out. Clairol democratized hair color. The Franklin Mint sold 'collectibles' for 50 years. Offerings included die-cast airplanes and vehicles, plates, commemorative pieces, dolls, coins, sculptures, and other pieces of artwork. The brand gave everyone accessibility to art. The Franklin Mint democratized owning artworks. Gap democratized the paradox promise of personal stylishness just like all of my friends. Anyone could afford jeans, T-shirts, and denim jackets and make this uniform their own. Gap, like Ford, Target, The Franklin Mint, and McDonald's, took categories where many people were excluded and invited them in to participate through access. These brands disrupted via democratization. Brand as democratizer is a powerful idea. Over the past decade, Gap experienced some seriously poor performance years. Gap lost its grip on its powerful promise. For a while, Gap became data-driven rather than creativity-driven, a problem many retailers face. Fashion needs data. On the other hand, fashion decisions are often creative, gut-driven choices about future tastes. Data tell you what people have done. Data are less able to tell you what people will want and will do. Gap lost its connection to the legacy of democratization of individualism and belonging, exclusiveness and inclusiveness – my personal style like all of my friends. Gap originated as a brand that stood for both the universality and adaptability of blue jean clothing. Gap is returning to its roots and returning to profitability. Gap Inc.'s Chief Executive, Richard Dickson, is returning Gap to relevancy again, says The Wall Street Journal, '… by collaborating with celebrities and hot brands, having more on-point marketing and more trend-worthy products. Same-store sales have grown for 11 consecutive quarters.' Here is more of what The Wall Street Journal recently reported: 'Gap defined the way a generation of Americans dressed and was a cultural touchstone for nearly two decades, under the direction of then-CEO Mickey Drexler. It made khakis cool with its television commercials that showed models dancing in them to swing music. Its basics became a thing of celebrity stardust when Sharon Stone wore a Gap T-shirt to the 1996 Oscars. And its ads starring Madonna, Spike Lee and other luminaries styling Gap's classic T-shirts and denim their own way resonated with shoppers: They too could make the look their own. 'But sales slumped in the early 2000s, and Drexler was forced out. Subsequent CEOs weren't able to reignite the magic—until now.' Founded in 1968, The Gap (now Gap) began with a simple idea: to make it easier for anyone to find a pair of jeans that fit: a commitment to do more for everyone's individualism. Don Fisher, a real estate broker in San Francisco, wanted to put denim jeans into anyone's and everyone's wardrobes: he wanted to democratize the availability of blue jean fashion. Mr. Fisher saw an opportunity for blue jeans by dedicating retail space where jeans in all sizes and in all styles were available. Anyone could find a pair of jeans that fit size-wise and style-wise. Anyone could be part of the 60's moment. Don Fisher and his wife Doris were passionate about The Gap and its possibilities for everyone. Don Fisher knew Walter Haas, Jr., the President of Levi Strauss & Co. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Haas made a deal. Levi Strauss & Co. agreed to continually supply The Gap with Levi's blue jeans so that there would never be any 'out-of-stock' sizes or styles. In its first store, The Gap sold men's Levi's jeans and music. One year later, in 1970, The Gap began to sell women's Levi's jeans. By 1974, The Gap had its own label, so that by 1977, the store compared its jeans to Levi's. Soon, there was The Gap's one-pocket T-shirt in a myriad of colors. Let's not forget the jean jacket, which allows for all sorts of flair. As The Gap grew into a company with other brands, Gap lost its original connections to its heritage. Along the way, Gap trended upmarket, leaving some price room between itself and its lower-priced sibling brand, Old Navy. Gap found itself caught in a muddled middle between Old Navy and Gap's more upscale Banana Republic brand, eventually losing out to its 'athleisure' brand, Athleta, for stylish, dressed-up exercise women's wear. There is a lot of marketing introspection on mass-market brands and brands that sit in the muddled middle between low-end and high-end. There is a lot of marketing mis-speak about value-seeking customers who buy on price alone. Loser brands use this terminology of value = low price. Sure, some customers seek low prices, but all customers seek value, and brand strategy ultimately shapes the economics of that choice. A Mercedes buyer believes a Mercedes is a great value in the same way that a Subaru buyer thinks a Subaru is a great value. Affordability has become a catch-all phrase for low price when, in fact, affordability is what you can afford. Sure, there are Dollar Stores and TJ Maxx, but there are also The RealReal and Poshmark. Democratization is not about affordability. Democratization is about accessibility. Accessibility is more than ease of entering or ease of being reached, obtained, or used. Accessibility is also about being easily appreciated or easily understood. From its beginnings as jeans for all sizes and fits, Gap lets customers experience accessible, inclusive exclusivity where people create their own styles. Democratization is also about freedom. For Gap customers, the promise was always the freedom to create your own particular, individual style from the universality of its denim offerings. Shared with others yet specific to me. Free to be me, just like all my friends. Accessibility and freedom to choose, freedom to use, and free of doubt. When I speak about brand management, I refer to the concept of Freedom within a Framework. A Brand Framework provides the non-negotiable guidelines and policies that define the brand's common guest experience. Every brand must have a brand framework. The framework creates the brand's boundary lines within which the brand is to be communicated and delivered. All actions on behalf of the brand must be evaluated and activated against this framework. A brand framework is a dynamic document. A brand framework is enriched and refreshed to reflect new brand learning in order to keep the brand relevant. Brand should strengthen competitive position, pricing power, and enterprise value. The Blake Project helps make that happen. Freedom within a Framework means everyone working on behalf of the brand is encouraged to be creative in how they keep and nurture existing customers while attracting new and potential customers, as long as they work within the boundaries of the brand's framework. Gap's heritage reflects the idea that there are boundaries to the universal ebb and flow of Gap offerings, but within those boundaries, customers have the freedom to be creative in their choices. Brand as democratizer is a powerful idea. Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by Joan Kiddon, Partner, The Blake Project, Author of The Paradox Planet: Creating Brand Experiences For The Age Of I At The Blake Project, we help leaders turn brand into a disciplined driver of financial performance — strengthening pricing power, competitive position, and enterprise value. Email us to start a conversation about enduring profitable growth. For The EBITDA. Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project, a strategic brand consultancy focused on turning brand into pricing power, growth, and enterprise value.