This Lecture Got Me Thinking, Which Brand Would I Defend?

12 comments on “This Lecture Got Me Thinking, Which Brand Would I Defend?”

1. Brand loyalty isn’t just about products. It’s about identity. Apple and Tesla don’t sell products; they sell a lifestyle people want to attach themselves to, even if the product barely changes. You see it with Apple vs. Samsung. Apple users are notoriously defensive, almost like their phone choice says something about who they are.
   Sophia’s dad connects with Patagonia because it lines up with what he values. For me, it’s Old Navy. It’s affordable, consistent, and it works with my style. Professor Reed was spot on. Loyalty works because brands tap into how we see ourselves. That’s powerful, but also a reason to stay sharp. Are you a customer or a billboard?

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2. Hey sophia!,
   I can definitely relate and confirm with you a dads love for patagonia. My dad has been rocking the same black-grey colorway patagonia fleece that my older sister has gifted him from four Christmases ago. He claims it’s the only thing he needs to survive the New York winter, a classic case of brand loyalty.
   Jokes aside, while reading your article I couldn’t help but continue to think of situations where Dr.Reed’s lessons don’t seem to apply. Bold, I know, but hear me out. I agree that a brand’s success can stem from expressing their interests and beliefs but that’s not always the case.
   Take Kanye West, for example, a headline for controversy, who continues to be the pioneer of the $3 billion brand, Yeezy. Despite being constantly surrounded by controversy, he built a “successful” brand.
   Back in February of this year, Kanye’s X account was deactivated after he posted a thread of anti semitic posts that drew major public backlash. Just a day later, his website, Yeezy.com, listed a T-Shirt featuring a swastika, ultimately leading the site to be shut down for violating Shopify’s terms of service. His offensive designs and statements coinciding with admiration for Adolf Hitler have also caused major brand collaborations to collapse, most notably Adidas. So if we were to apply what Professor Reed suggested as the formula to “great branding,” it raises a question: Are Kanye’s beliefs what drives the strong connections with his loyal buyers, or is it the perceived value of the product itself that continues to sustain Yeezy’s popularity?

   Yeezy’s products continue to sell out and dominate the resale market with “SOLD OUT” banners in capital letters that spread across the Yeezy website, suggesting that Yeezy remains culturally and fashionably relevant. Kanye’s case, though complicated and uncomfortable, is one that is significant to consider for challenging the traditional ideas of branding and consumer behavior that Dr. Reed teaches.
   Sophia, you also include Simon Sinek’s beliefs that customers align themselves with brands that affirm their beliefs but I’d argue that this thinking is overly idealized and often comes from a privileged perspective that fails to account for the countless other economic factors that affect decision making especially for brands that make basic necessities like clothes. Shein and Zara are just two very successful brands that continue to thrive despite the criticism they receive for exploitative production models. While customers might want to align their beliefs with the brands they buy from in practice, affordability often outweighs ideology. So it’s not because people align with fast fashion practices but because this is the most accessible form of clothing for many low-income families. For them fast fashion isn’t a political choice but a financial constraint. The reality of our world complicates Sinek’s narrow view on branding for the wide segment of consumers where functionality and price override beliefs.

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3. Most people go to Starbucks for coffee. I go for the Strawberry Açaí.

   Every morning, my dad stops at Starbucks to pick up my mom’s cappuccino, and he brings back my refresher too. And while it might surprise you to learn that Açaí has caffeine, my allegiance to Starbucks isn’t really about the caffeine. It’s about sitting at the kitchen table with something sweet and cold in hand, the sunlight coming in, the house still waking up. As we cradle our cups, the simple act of sipping our favorite drinks invites us to a place where the world fades, and we are able to pause, savoring the present.

   Sophia W.’s article about Dr. Americus Reed’s lecture helped me understand why Starbucks means more to me than just a drink. Dr. Reed explains that brand loyalty forms when we internalize a brand’s identity—when it reflects who we are or how we want to feel. More than an integral part of my daily routine, Starbucks represents solace in the shared experience, familial bonding, warmth (ironic, given my cold drink) and connection.

   I’ve had friends tease me when I express my love of Starbucks: “That’s not even coffee.” But I’d defend my pink drink any day—not because of what’s in it, but because of what it stands for. For me, Starbucks is about how my family cares for each other. It’s how I’ve come to care for myself. And in that small, everyday way, it’s how Starbucks lives its mission—to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup, and one neighborhood (in this case, kitchen table) at a time.

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   • Hi Henry!
     As a lover of Starbucks myself, I completely understand the peace I feel when there is a nice, cold cup of Starbucks in my hand.
     I’m currently taking early college classes at a community college and they have a Starbucks nearby. Every Tuesday I go, and my whole entire week this is what I look forward to. I look forward to the simple act of finishing my college class work, and then walking over to Starbucks and getting myself a cold Caramel Macchiato with extra caramel, extra whipping cream.
     My parents don’t understand this. Why pay for a $7 cup of coffee when I can just make one at home? And honestly, I don’t understand this undying loyalty to a coffee shop either.
     But what I do understand is that when the barista hands me my drink, my eyes instantly light up with joy when she says “enjoy your drink!” I understand my parents making authentic chai by using real spices 3 times a day because it brings them the same happiness that 7 dollar cup of coffee brings me.
     So as you said, Starbucks has created a warm and cozy environment for us that is an act of self-care. It is a way for us to nurture our spirits after working hard every single day.

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4. All branding and advertisement in the world are attempts to hold customers in and to create this special relationship to this one product and brand, even though they might not be so special. One of the biggest examples of this, and what most people fell towards are apple products. Apple products align themselves with the vision of the future, marketing and branding their products to be what the future holds, even though their hardware, and sometimes software is still leagues behind some other phone companies. For example, apple’s flagship phone, the iphone 16, having a worse screen (at 60hz, which was the standard monitor and device screen refresh rate since the 90’s) and wifi speed and connection than the budget pixel phone pixel 9a, and refuses to bump up the specs. Yet, hordes of people continue to buy apple phones simply because of how much people use them. Apple is notorious for having other apple users convince their friends and family to use apple phones as well, having apple only group chats, allowing to have apple pay only for apple users, facetime compatibility, find my, almost discriminating against other phone companies just to keep brand loyalty.
   Other brands that I am loyal to are from sports. Yonex has been the dominating badminton equipment supplier since the 70’s, revolutionizing badminton since its arrival. But, this past decade, many other brands, especially Victor, has caught up to Yonex in terms of quality and the performance of the rackets, and sometimes outperforms them; yet Yonex still dominates in every tournament that I attend. This is because Yonex sponsors all the badminton world champions these past decade, and also top clubs in America and Asia as well, being able to market themselves as the “winning racket”. Just like how even though the way of wade shoes are not the best shoes for volleyball, they are worn with the message that they are the “cool shoes”, being stylish and somewhat decent at playing volleyball, compared to Mizuno, a brand with a shoe line dedicated entirely to volleyball.

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5. Brands are present in every aspect of our lives, with our own identities being shaped, both consciously and unconsciously, by how we choose to brand ourselves to others. Dr. Reed points out how successful brand loyalty is created through tying a brand’s identity to the consumer’s identity psychologically. In other words, brand loyalty involves how well a brand can tie itself with their customer’s brand. For example, brands like Pink Palm Puff and Sol de Janeiro have formed themselves around a distinct beachy and preppy aesthetic that has completely exploded in popularity in the past few years. It seems that nearly every teen or tween girl wants to attach themselves to this identity, and a link is formed between that identity which is found in the brands that intentionally embody it and the consumers who want to be apart of it. Soon, the two merge – the brand becomes apart of the consumer’s identity. Sticking with the example above, owning a bottle of Sol de Janeiro body mist or a Pink Palm Puff hoodie makes you preppy. The association causes a subconscious attachment to the brand that creates the powerful brand loyalty that this article explores. The brand becomes apart of you, and a hit to the brand basically seems like a hit to who you are as a person. It’s become almost scary how strongly attached we are to different brands.
   Another example can be seen through a specific dark green Gatorade water bottle all elementary and middle school boys seem to have that squirts liquid into your mouth (and more often than not, at other people as well). This is largely because, as mentioned in the article, Gatorade has tied its brand to athleticism and fitness, which, especially in this day and age, many young boys want to embody in their own identities. I once saw a boy in the aisles of Dick’s Sporting Goods begging their mom for this very water bottle, so much so that it resulted in raised voices and an argument. This shows how we have developed a need for a product in order to create an identity for ourselves. In my perspective, this has contributed to the rise of such a strong consumer culture in our society, as at this point, our identities are largely dependent on materialistic items to create an image for ourselves. If these brands didn’t have such a tight link to us and our identities, would we see such a strong need to purchase the myriad of items that we see as a need in order to build our own brand in a certain way? Brand loyalty has evolved into more than a business concept – it’s now more or less become a part of our culture as human beings and intensely affects our everyday lives and purchases.

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6. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think about this from an evolutionary psychology perspective. Sophia, you mention that customers are often “irrational” when it comes to brand loyalty, but I would argue that their behavior actually makes perfect sense when you consider how our brains have evolved over time.

   Thousands of years ago, when humans lived as cavemen, survival depended on conformity. If someone in the tribe discovered a safe spot for food or a hunting technique that worked, others quickly followed, not because it was trendy, but because following what worked was a matter of life or death. Conformity was deeply intertwined with safety/survival, and that instinct is still hardwired into our brains today.

   Fast forward to today: we don’t need to copy other peoples hunting techniques anymore, thankfully. However, our brains are still wired to seek safety in what feels familiar and socially accepted. This is where branding comes in. Big name brands have completely mastered the ability to embed themselves into our everyday lives. I like to think as though brands are our modern day tribes.

   This aligns closely with what Dr. Reed describes as the difference between good branding and great branding. Good branding helps a business connect with customers on the surface, but great branding goes deeper, it leads customers to completely internalize the brand.

   Still, I feel as though this article could have gone even deeper by asking why this internalization works so well in the first place. The answer lies in our evolutionary psychology. Connecting with a brand activates the same systems that once helped us survive. In that sense, brand loyalty isn’t irrational at all; it’s our human nature.

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7. Sophia, your take on Professor Reed’s lecture gives us all much needed analysis on how brand loyalty extends beyond mere repeating purchasing, but truly forming that deep personal connection, and building that relationship to strengthen each customer’s CLV, or customer lifetime value, leading to this idea that is similar to what you defined as identity loyalty. This is no doubt how brands create an extension of themselves into who their customers are, weaving them into the very fabric of who they are selling to. This insight of yours, Sophia, aligns quite closely to my research on luxury branding, where I explored how brands build something I like to call “narrative equity,” which is quite identical to your “identity loyalty,” a story and values that customers internalize about a brand.

   However, something I would challenge is based on a recent survey that I conducted with 30 members of Gen Z, 70% of respondents shared that they do not consider themselves a loyal customer of any brand. So apparently, loyalty for brands is rarer than gas prices below three dollars. The data that I collected essentially suggests that for younger consumers, loyalty to brands relies upon conditions, and is fragmented, something that is fluid and ever changing as Gen Z’s priorities change.

   A point that I touched on in my research paper was the idea that since Gen Z has grown up alongside technology, they have adapted to the innovative technology of today that allows them to personalize their purchases, to find a perfect fit to whatever they wish to buy. In this case, one brand might not always be the answer, depending on how they’re feeling that day. Since they are exposed to this ever-changing technology, they have opportunities to buy from different brands for their different needs, which each brand can specialize in. Another key point from my research, a common response to the question why they aren’t committed to a brand, is because nowadays, they buy for the product, rather than the brand.

   So essentially what I’m trying to ask is, how can brands, even the most customer-centric, genuinely cultivate the elusive “identity loyalty” in your words, or what I call “narrative equity”? This lecture highlights that true impactful branding is about creating deep, psychological connections, but my research dives into the roots of this, the roots that are contorting as the skeptical Gen Z, as proven in my research, has an attention span shorter than an Instagram reel.

   Gen Z’s loyalty is quite conditional, and often also transactional. They want brands to earn their allegiance, and this raises the question, can a brand preserve its original identity while becoming customer-centric, while adapting to the new, rapidly changing customer values effectively? After all, if a brand changes too much, chasing trends, chasing fads, it could dilute the true narrative equity of the brand, but if it changes too little, it could become irrelevant.

   Your example of your dad’s allegiance to Patagonia really nails down to the core how a brand’s authenticity and transparency can create that relationship between brand and consumer. Their transparency and environmental activtism surely attracts cusomers, but essentially creates ambassadors who tie the brand to their moral compass, how it makes them feel. This raises other brands to a new standard which they must meet, standing for something and delivering on their promises.

   Professor Reed’s lecture, your analysis and statements, and my research ultimately agree on an invaluable point: brand loyalty is evolving from a one-dimensional concept to a dynamic, ever-changing, and co-created narrative. In order for both to thrive, they must create a dialogue where identity, values, and experiences align, forming a relationship. In this new era of feelings, brands that succeed will be the ones that listen and reflect, who can make consumers feel their brands in this time of necessity for experiential branding, becoming part of a story, rather than just buying a product, precisely how your dad feels about Patagonia.

   So truly, this article really opened my eyes to your aspects on brand loyalty, which overall helped me learn that winning loyalty in this era requires something new of brands, for them to listen, adapt, and co-create a story alongside their logos, their mottos, and their trademarks. Because at the end of the day, loyalty won’t come from a free drink, or even that loyalty program I signed up for, but from the moment I truly feel like I’m not buying a product, I’m buying a purpose.

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   • Renu, your extension of Sophia’s thoughts on brand loyalty into the realm of social media and Gen-Z consumers piqued my interest for its relevance and novel nature. 

     While I do agree with your statements from your research that Gen-Z seems to buy for the product rather than the brand, especially with the variety of options technology offers, and that a majority of Gen-Z consumers don’t consider themselves a loyal customer of any brand, I think it’s important to consider all the ways a brand could look. With haul culture and products going instantly viral on social media platforms like TikTok, it can be easy to simplify the idea of a brand to merely our everyday impressions of international retailers selling ranges of material goods. 

     Instead, examples of brands offering services and experiences rather than items taken home in shopping bags came to mind while I was reading this article. And to me, the brands that make up North America’s professional sports industry showcase consumer support like no one else. While Gen Z might not restrict themselves to a singular best makeup or clothing brand, there’s often no hesitation when it comes to declaring their favourite NBA, NFL, or MLB team. To offer an example that contrasts your point that Gen Z “has an attention span shorter than an Instagram reel”, young sports fans enthusiastically watch games spanning multiple hours, sometimes even seeking out additional pre and post-game fandom opportunities. 

     As diehard sports fans view their favourite teams’ identities as part of their self-image, Sophia’s mentioned concept of identity loyalty and your narrative equity as applied in sports is equally or even more relevant to the idea of strengthening customer lifetime value. By participating in fandom rituals like attending games, tailgating, and dressing in head-to-toe team merch, sports fans are “buying a purpose” much like Sophia’s dad buys Patagonia products for its brand purpose. 

     To appeal to a new group of highly loyal, diehard fans, teams often target the nostalgic nature of playing childhood hockey to align themselves with their consumers. Unique from retailers like Nike or Patagonia, the alive, human nature of the products, or players, representing the Oilers or the Penguins allow these brands to form particularly “personal bonds” with their fans. Opportunities to meet and speak with McDavid or Crosby while wearing their jerseys and waiting for an autograph give sports teams’ brands life and energy in a way that a cotton shirt or bottle of shampoo never could. 

     Relating to Sophia’s distinction of three brand-consumer alignment behaviours, Gen Z sports fans “voluntarily become brand ambassadors and seek ways to represent the brand” wherever they go and however they can. By wearing team-branded hats, t-shirts, and even jerseys daily, teams are not only gaining revenue from these repeat merchandise purchases but also benefiting from their fans’ billboard-like behaviour. Additionally, even when another baseball, hockey, or basketball game might be cheaper or is having a better season, diehard fans would never betray their self-identified team. In particular, fans’ engagement in social media debates over pre-game predictions, mid-game complaints, and post-game results reflect their “…intrinsic need to protect the brand image”, going as far as even getting in physical or digital brawls of fans of opposing teams.

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8. Sophie, thank you for sharing your experience with Dr. Reed’s lecture! Coincidentally, I attended the same lecture as part of the Essentials of Finance program, and I too experienced a similar awe-struck moment.

   Your reflection made me think about how Dr. Reed’s lecture influenced my journey as an entrepreneur and consumer. In 2021, I founded my business, Eats by Ellie, a cookie business that donates the majority of profits to the Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome (AMPS) Department at CHOP Hospital. I aim to raise awareness and support research for the chronic pain condition, which I have persevered through since 2020. When founding and expanding Eats by Ellie, I knew I wanted a catchy name, but beyond that, I never considered the importance of my brand. I was selling cookies with a cause, not operating a large corporation, so why would I need to care about my brand? After attending Dr. Reed’s lecture, I realized, as you also expressed, that “customers choose to align themselves with brands that affirm their beliefs and reflect their lifestyles. Alignment pays dividends.” Learning that consumers don’t solely choose to purchase a product simply because of its price or quality, but also because they see themselves or a desired version of themselves in the product, I began to change how I operated. I created an anti-inflammatory line of baked goods to further exemplify that AMPS is an inflammation-based condition. I also created a limited edition line of baked goods to offer consumers the chance to be part of an “exclusive club”. These products are some of my best sellers.

   The success of the branding concept “limited edition” is incredibly interesting, as it can be the difference between a failing brand and a multi-million-dollar company if leveraged effectively. Take Stanley products, for example. Founded in 1913, their product line targeted blue-collar workers needing a drink to stay at its intended temperature for a long period of time. It was only after they began to “glamify” their products and use social media to convey how “cool” the water bottles were that their revenue started to grow. They also capitalized on how their water bottles were environmentally friendly. Climate-friendly, photo-friendly, and fitness-friendly make Stanley such a versatile brand for all groups: socially conscious, aesthetically aware, and athletically aligned. From both smart marketing and fostering a distinct brand loyalty, Stanley’s revenue increased tenfold from $73 million in 2019 to $750 million by 2023. The drinkware didn’t change; their image did. That is what is so fascinating about branding. Through social media and crafting an image, a product can be reinvented or fully revived when a company focuses on transforming a product into the desired identity of millions.

   When creating my future ventures, I have and will continue to keep in mind Stanley’s masterclass on effectively fostering brand loyalty and its true importance. During the summer of 2024, I launched the AMPS Awareness Association to promote awareness, community, and knowledge of chronic pain conditions, and in particular AMPS. Internalizing Dr. Reed’s lecture and reflecting on your words, Sophie, I knew I had to portray my mission through my brand. I am “selling” a vision of the future. A future where people live in less pain and are supported by a community of like-minded individuals. In order for AMPS Awareness Association to have the widest scope of impact, people need to identify with our image. I began with designing the logo, continued to build out our social media, and followed with posting consistent messaging on the website (ampsawarenessassociation.org). The organization’s goal is to create a superhero mindset towards people’s pain conditions, corroborating the mantra “I persist through pain daily, I can do anything!” Brand loyalty fundamentals don’t just build companies; they build a common dream of tomorrow.

   Sophie, it seems Dr. Reed’s lecture left a lasting impression on both of us. I hope as we begin and continue our business journeys, we can integrate his passionately told lessons into our visions.

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9. Hello, Sophia! Thank you for this extremely well-written article; reading it made me realize something instrumental about Professor Reed’s thoughts on great branding and identity loyalty. You see, thinking about the brands I use in my daily life, I realized that I do in fact have a tendency to use certain popular brands every day. The phone I use religiously is always Apple, the camera I bring with me everywhere is always Fuji, the piano I play every day is by Yamaha, and the plane I take whenever I travel to another part of the world is always JetBlue. Yet, despite the fact that I turn to these brands every time, I don’t see Professor Reed’s concept of identity loyalty reflected in my relationship with any of them. I do not feel like I have truly internalized an emotional tie to any of those major multinational brands. Rather, a brand that clearly represents identity loyalty for me is a quiet voice that I stumbled upon years ago. Shiloh Dynasty is an indie singer-songwriter whose melancholy songs accompanied me in the most raw and introspective moments of my life. Whenever I started to crumble under the weight of stress and anxiety, Shiloh’s music was always there to comfort me. From late-night existential crises to the death of my loved ones, I could always feel that Shiloh’s songs were like a reflection of my turbulent inner world. I wouldn’t go out of my way to defend my Apple products, but I would not hesitate at all to defend Shiloh from any hate or disrespect.
   Professor Reed tells us that “customers will psychologically buy into the idea that they are a representation of the brand if they believe it aligns with their lifestyle and beliefs.” As a result, he explains, “Alignment pays dividends.” Yet, this brings up an important question. If we tie our identities so strongly to these brands, are we giving away a part of our self-definition? What happens when those brands change or disappoint us? These brands don’t have to be companies or products either; they can also be celebrities or artists whose presence and values resonate with us. I believe that depends on how deep our connection to those brands is. When we start internalizing a brand’s values and products because of great branding, that brand becomes an essential part of our identity. When that happens, any shift in that brand can feel like a rupture in our self-identity. It forces us to reevaluate not just the brand, but also ourselves. However, I believe that these shifts encourage growth. When you aren’t willing to reevaluate yourself for the sake of a brand, it proves that that brand wasn’t that integral to your self-identity. On the other hand, if you are willing to reevaluate your values due to a change in the brand, it proves the connection it has fostered as well as its significance as a part of your identity. However, I believe that these shifts push us to evolve. When a brand changes in ways that no longer align with your values, it gives you the chance to reclaim your identity. In that way, brand disappointment can serve as a reflection of how much of our identity is truly ours and how much we’ve outsourced to the world around us.

   Furthermore, to return to my own experience of identity loyalty, Shiloh’s case challenges the traditional ideas of branding. Like many other indie musicians, Shiloh never marketed herself with fancy slogans or loud logos. Instead, her music built communities and loyalty without even trying to. Perhaps the strongest brands that encompass a large part of our identity aren’t the ones that we wear on our sleeves, but the ones we carry in our hearts.

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10. Sophia,
    your suggestion that brand loyalty is more than habit resonated with me. I, too, used to believe that our consumer decisions were largely rational, based on price or quality. But Dr. Americus Reed’s concept of “identity loyalty” gave language to what I had until then only known instinctively: that we don’t buy products so much as bits of who we want to be.

    My epiphany did not take place in a classroom but on an otherwise ordinary afternoon, staring into my closet. I had more designer brand T-shirts than I needed—and certainly more than my budget could sustain. Why was I still buying them when cheaper alternatives were comparable in quality? The answer struck me with clarity: I was not purchasing cloth and thread. I was purchasing identity.

    This revelation spurred a genuine interest in brand and marketing culture. Dr. Reed’s proposition that brand loyalty occurs “when a brand becomes part of who you are” suddenly made total sense. I had to dig deeper into why I was so drawn to those designer T-shirts beyond their material worth.

    Two case studies deepened my insight: Corteiz, a London-based streetwear brand, and Adidas x Parley for the Oceans. Corteiz feeds off exclusivity; the password-protected site, mysterious product drops, and scavenger hunts all make getting in feel like a reward rather than a transaction. The password is only given to the followers of their private Instagram, and it forms a loyalty-and-secrecy-bound community. Then there are Adidas and Parley, who created a sneaker line from recycled ocean plastic, infusing sustainability into product and message. Like Patagonia’s now-infamous “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign, their marketing spoke to a purpose greater than profit.

    Inspired, I launched my fashion brand using these tenets of exclusivity and sustainability. I started by printing anonymous QR codes on white sheets of paper and distributing them around the city. No logo, no instructions—just a mysterious call to discover something concealed and exclusive. This created a subtle but profound sense of earned access.

    Simultaneously, I was committed to aligning my products with environmental values that I shared personally. From low-pollution materials to upcycled fabrics—like a tote bag created from excess clothing waste—I developed a line that embodied quality and character in a way unique to my brand.

    Ultimately this moment of self-reflection in front of my closet became a broader realization about the potent combination of identity and community and consumption. Dr. Reed’s theory was a container for a niggling notion I’d long had but never fully articulated: we are not just consuming things—we are choosing the people we want to become. By examining brands like Corteiz and Adidas x Parley and through launching my own brand built on exclusivity and sustainability, I realized that branding isn’t manipulation but meaning-making. “What we’re talking about is building a story people want to subscribe to and values they want to live,” he added. That realization continues to shape me—not just as a consumer, but as a producer.

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