Brooklyn Branding: How Far Can It Go?
Crain’s wrote ran an article over the weekend on a topic we’ve been thinking a lot about lately: the proliferation of Brooklyn-branded companies. Crain’s cites a few recent ones like Brooklyn Winery and Brooklyn Gin as well as a few older ones like Brooklyn Brewery and Brooklyn Industries. (No mention of the Brooklyn Flea, which…
Crain’s wrote ran an article over the weekend on a topic we’ve been thinking a lot about lately: the proliferation of Brooklyn-branded companies. Crain’s cites a few recent ones like Brooklyn Winery and Brooklyn Gin as well as a few older ones like Brooklyn Brewery and Brooklyn Industries. (No mention of the Brooklyn Flea, which falls somewhere in the middle of the timeline, but may have marked some kind of tipping point in the Brooklyn naming frenzy.) The reason for the wave of new companies is obvious: Brooklyn connotes, now on an international level, a unique kind of authenticity and coolness. Or as one marketing exec on the article puts it, Brooklyn has come to stand for a quality of life, and that quality of life has extended into quality of product.” That may be true, but very few things stay cool forever. It’ll be interesting to see whether, as the Brooklyn brand gets more commoditized, it can avoid being eroded. We sure hope so. And the branding options aren’t entirely played out: No one’s launched the Brooklyn Toilet Paper Company yet, though maybe someone in Bushwick loft is working on a business plan right now!
Photo by Matthew Kiernan
“i tell folks in bushwick it is over, gotta go to ocean hill to be cool…. ”
On what is this based?
Brooklyn chewing gum was started in 1946 by two brothers from Milan, who should be credited for thinking already at that time that it was a good name to evoke America and “cool”, and went on to become the best selling brand in Italy to this day, in a very cute package with the bridge on it. I have seen it now and then at Italian stores in Bensonhurst, and maybe once at Choice Greene. I habitually bring it back from Italay to my friends here!
My father still remembers the GI’s entering Rome in 1945 and throwing gum, comic books and chocolate (wrapped in tinfoil, he says) to little boys like him and how fantatsic it all tasted after all the war shortages!). The company also sponsored a cycling team in the 80’s (great red and blue jersey!). There WAS a gum company in Brooklyn, founded in 1938 :Topps, who went on to produce Bazooka Gum (now, is that a pre-gentrification Brooklyn moniker?)
My grandfather said people from Brooklyn like it because they have to.
Hmmm. NY Times ran a similar story back in 2008 citing many of the same businesses and brands. No fresh angle in the Crain’s article.
http://bk.ly/w4t
oh do post a pic of brooklyn gum and cigs
Rob is right that only 2 or 3 neighborhoods have any of the so called cool Brooklyn cachet. Most of Brooklyn is still off the map for most people outside of Brooklyn.
It’s interesting how Brooklyn has gone from the stereotypic working class mega-neighborhood filled with white ethnic guys who said “dem”, “dose”, and “youse guys”, the staple of casting in endless street gang and World War II movies, to some kind of urban, young and hip, uber cool loft, brownstone and coffee shop mega-neighborhood which isn’t any more accurate than the former. Add a few gritty, horrible projects for rappers to “make it real” and everyone else from outside Brooklyn thinks they’ve got us figured out.
I can’t wait until we’re not cool anymore.
>>VT has too many left wing liberal NIMBYs, like Park Slope.
That’s because Vermont is really just the Bronx. It’s full of New Yorkers – the real hicks moved on ages ago.
“Is there a Brooklyn maple syrup?”
If so, it’s likely organic and made from free range maple trees.
VT has too many left wing liberal NIMBYs, like Park Slope.