What do Banana Republic, McDonald’s, and a 1,800-year-old Japanese shrine have in common?

By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these brands influenced culture. They grew by building a product universe.

In this episode, Rei and Ana explore product pyramids of different brands, and how they grew through smart product-led branding.

• The growth of a Japanese shrine: https://open.substack.com/pub/reiinamoto/p/rethinking-rebranding?r=2e839v
• McDonald’s example: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ae/en-ae/anime-campaign.html
• How to build a product universe: https://andjelicaaa.substack.com/p/how-to-build-a-product-universe

In this inaugural episode, Ana and Rei introduce the idea of product-led branding: what happens when a product is so good that it spins a brand out of it?

They discuss how products themselves—like Nike’s Moon Shoe and Levi’s 501 jeans—build brand identity through unique features and cultural appeal.

Five key elements of product-led branding are Value, Wear, Aesthetics, Narrative, and Fandom.

Ana and Rei also share their respective Hit Lists, a topic or item in culture that's occupying them at the moment.

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO