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 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