Trigger
Is technological leadership essential for brand success?
Tesla’s brand thrives on ideology, vision, and emotional connection—fighting for a greener future. Successful brands balance product innovation with strong intangible values, creating lasting loyalty and desire.
Does losing technological leadership always lead to deterioration or decay of a brand? It looks like it doesn’t have to. We mean Tesla. With each launch of a new electric car from established automotive brands Tesla’s initial advantage (being the first manufacturer of purely electric car) is vanishing.
But It seems that the brand gains more and more popularity. Not to mention stocks rating that are biting record after record. Is technology leadership no longer important? So what is the phenomenon of Tesla?
Innovative product alone is not enough to build an influential brand. Powerful entrepreneurs knows that on top of revolutionary technology they need to come up with ideas that address deeper needs of their customers. Taking this assumption into account Tesla is a brand built on ideology and emotions. It came into being from a strong belief that the new future is possible now. Elon Musk have the vision of the better world and implements it systematically, which attracts people around the globe.
We are sure that many of you have wondered what is the successful way to create an iconic brand that will be arousing desire among people. According to Paul Kapferer, there are two ways to build a strong brand.
The first draws on advantages of a product which make it attractive to customers and become a basis for founding intangible values such as brand image and personality. For example a manufacturer of a beverage which is aimed at customers who want to relax can develop a laid-back brand image.
The other possible approach demonstrates building of a brand that emerges from certain values like mission or vision that inspire the creation of a unique product. For instance a brand promoting racing values and a sporty lifestyle can branch out into various categories of cars, bikes or even apparel.

Many of brand inventors, as Kapferer says, started with a business model based on a specific product or a service. A motivation to create a business is usually an idea of an innovation. Through time, the name of the product become not only recognizable but also more significant among other market participants, acquiring the ability to influence people’s purchasing decisions. Then, it do not only reflect the product advantages but is associated with a specific personality.
The alternative method for creating a brand begins with the set of intangible values that are to be the basis of a new product or service. This is a common attitude for all licensed brands that are born from an idea or an existing concept. But still, the proposed value proposition needs to be linked to the product advantages. The main difference is that brands don’t acquire their characters over time. They should be planned from the very beginning and aimed at telling an intangible story.
These attitudes manifest that powerful brands stand firmly on two legs: competitive advantages of products on one hand and intangible brand values on the other. Two-legged model shows that in order to win the hearts of buyers it is not enough to have a perfect product. And vice versa – a great idea needs to be followed by an innovation that makes a product or a service unique.

For Tesla and its customers, fighting for greener technologies and cleaner cities is not only a technological issue. Tesla manage to achieve status of a brand that fights for the better future. It is all about lifestyle or, one can even say, an ideology which strengthens the brand promise, since one can invest in Tesla not for return from investment, but as a collective afford for greener world. Tesla fight to be a leader not only in technology but as well is a leader in ideology.

Wiktor Madejczyk
Chief Delivery Officer