Brand Identity and Elements of Lacoste

The sports brand industry is competitive. That is because numerous are available from different countries, offering their benefits and unique sides. Thus, their fanatics enjoy doing their research before purchasing because, in this case, it is more like an investment. Among those fantastic sports brands is Lacoste. It sells clothing, accessories, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, watches, perfume, and towels. It also sells eyewear. The brand may be quickly identified thanks to its green alligator logo. Let’s dive deep into its overall marketing strategy to unravel its success and why it is worth looking into. 

What is the identity of Lacoste?

Lacoste, formerly La Société Chemise Lacoste, was established in 1933 by French tennis star René Lacoste. René’s tenacity on the tennis courts earned him the nickname “The Crocodile.” He achieved seven Grand Slam Singles titles during his tennis career and reached the world’s top spot in 1926 and 1927. His nickname served as the model for the Croc logo that is now found on every item produced by Lacoste and that he wore on his tennis uniforms.

• Lacoste originally produced the revolutionary tennis, golf, and sailing shirts René wore on the tennis courts. In 1951, the Lacoste clothing line grew to offer other hues besides the standard tennis white. They started shipping to the US in 1952 and were advertised there as “The status symbol of the competent sportsman.”
• The tennis community was rocked in 1963 by René’s invention of the first tennis racquet built of tubular steel. Since all previous tennis racquets were made of wood, a new, lighter, and more robust model was essential. In Europe, the racquet was offered under the Lacoste label, but Wilson Sporting Goods took ownership and rebranded it as the Wilson T-2000 in the US.
• Bernard Lacoste took over as President of Lacoste from his father in 1963, bringing with him a renewed passion for the growth of the Lacoste clothing line. Lacoste was making roughly 300,000 sales a year when he took charge.
• The late 1970s and early 1980s marked Lacoste’s big break when the brand’s status as THE “preppy wardrobe” in America finally took off. In addition, Lacoste expanded more product categories to the Lacoste brand, including watches, eyeglasses, fragrances, and footwear (from tennis shoes to deck shoes).
• Lacoste has lately experienced another rebirth after working with French fashion designer Christophe Lemaire to create a new, modern look for both its sports and fashion divisions. Tennis stars Andy Roddick and John Isner have also worked with them, and golfer José Maria Olazabal has helped them get more recognition in the sport by competing in Lacoste shirts.
• Michel Lacoste has carried on the Lacoste family’s love for their brand, and as a result, Lacoste is now sold in more than 110 countries and sells more than 50 million pieces yearly. After Bernard Lacoste’s critical illness in 2005, his younger brother became the leader.

Lacoste Brand Positioning

Let’s thoroughly examine the Instagram post below to better understand the Lacoste brand positioning. 

This post is advertising a Lacoste bucket hat. We are following a kid’s adventure at a park. She spots a young man wearing the same hat as her, and she tries to copy him even by disobeying her mom.

But once she realizes that the guy spotted her, she no longer copies him when he tries replicating the earlier scenario he spotted with the girl and her mom.

The post’s caption makes it easier to get that the pot is advertising the hat. And so, what can we gather from this video?

The cheerful and lighthearted aura that we notice from this post is the biggest hint that we have. 

And secondly, this is just an innocent representation of a scenario, and because it includes a little girl in it, the Innocence becomes even more and more prominent.

And from here, the archetype that Lacoste belongs to is the Innocent.

With the mentioned hints, we could unravel the archetype that Lacoste belongs to. The Innocent archetype is self-explanatory and touches upon purity in all its senses and feelings. 

However, numerous other archetypes are suitable for other brands you might be interested in. Or, you could be aiming to create your brand and are wondering which archetype to target.

If you want to understand archetypes better and learn how to engage with them, “8 Steps” is the perfect e-book for you. Reading through its pages will help you know how to react to all those branding questions. You will undoubtedly gain a ton of knowledge from it.

Now let us continue investigating Lacoste further. What do we know about its archetype, the Innocent?

• The archetype desires to encounter heaven.
• The archetype aims to be joyful and satisfied.
• The strategy is the archetype to perform actions respectably.

Other brands of the Innocent archetype are Coca-Cola and Dove.

The messaging levels of the archetype are the following.

Level One: a desire for Innocence, goodness, and simplicity

Level Two: youthful purity, authorizing, dangling, obedient, trusting, idyllic

Level Three: resurrection, joyous, reinventing, reframing, clarifying, reentering the Promised Land

Level Four: a nearly phenomenal essence of oneness, whereby Innocence originates from values and virtue, not outer knowledge, being, not doing

The Innocent archetype provides a good identity for brands that:

• produce a pretty straightforward resolution to an identifiable problem

• are connected with decency, integrity, clarity, youth, nostalgia

• have positions connected with virtue, cleanliness, or health, and that are pretty replicable

• have a low to average price range

• are created by a brand with straightforward core values

• wih to differentiate from an item with a degraded picture

Brand archetypes: Why are they significant in practice?

Why are brand archetypes important in real life?

Various businesses’ communication strategies may be emphasized on numerous platforms with multiple objectives. A central logic still unites all of these messages. At this time, archetypal branding and communication are deployed.

If you employ archetypal branding, you can be confident that your messages are unique, clear, and original. Depending on how it is understood, an inspirational statement that claims your business can reach every person on the planet will have a varied impact.

One paradigm strongly emphasizes education, whilst the other strongly emphasizes being a hero. By leveraging communication based on archetypes, marketing specialists can combine their thoughts to generate more effective messaging.

To better understand how to turn your brand messaging into something more practical, look at the “8 Steps To a Complete Archetypal Branding.”

Brand Identity of Lacoste

Category

Lacoste’s primary concentration was on sports, and one of the factors contributing to its development into the recognizable brand it is today is its reputation for quality and craftsmanship. Even though it is debatably still essentially a sportswear firm, Lacoste has appeared at Paris Fashion Week and is offered by upmarket stores like Selfridges.

The fabrics and clothing are of the finest quality and are long-lasting. Natural materials like wool and cotton are regularly combined with synthetic fibers to increase the performance or durability of the garment.

Ralph Lauren and the national fashion craze are usually compared with Lacoste, recognized for its “preppy” appearance.

The complete experience is considered when determining what qualifies as a luxury, not simply the brand or the clothing.

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Benefits and Differentiation

Most successful companies, from start-ups to those on the Fortune 500 list, have tried rebranding. Companies may realize this to retain the record-breaking heights they have reached and to enhance consumer perception. The desired identity may not be compatible with the current brand. 

The new demographic goal you need to hit is an essential consideration. Many glamorous businesses still need to tap into the athleisure market in the clothing industry, although millennials have shown a preference for it. 

Leading brands are justified in encouraging uniqueness and are compelled to do so due to this and the emergence of new rivals, technological breakthroughs, or consumer trends. If not, the outcome will be obsolescence. 

Lacoste must find a happy medium between being desirable and accessible while remaining stylish. A combination that might be highly successful. When examined critically, Lacoste’s accessibility strategy showed a few flaws that were cause for concern. Lacoste received too much publicity, and more advertisement is only sometimes better for a standout brand. A fashion brand’s establishment is seen as a foolhardy endeavor with this much exposure.

Lacoste closed many of its department store doors, including those of Macy’s and Nordstrom, to improve their image and increase sales in their stores by removing more affordable options.

The core communication idea

Targeting young consumers who desire beautiful individualism and promoting feminine trends to fulfill their “On the Go” needs, according to Haifa Najjar, communication manager for Holdal Group, the distributor of Lacoste in Lebanon, was a wise promotional plan. Haifa continued that, in addition, this is consistent with Holdal’s mission to adapt to the industry’s rapidly changing demands and trends.

Brand elements of Lacoste

Let’s now consider some integral aspects of establishing a successful company. We must look at components like the slogan, archetype, and logo.

The name element:

Lacoste originates locally, from a place not far from the original bearer’s former residence. The phrase in question is derived from the French word “cote,” which, in a geographical sense, means “by the coast.”

Lacoste, Lacoste, La Coste, La Costes, Lacauste, Lacaustes, La Caustes, La Causte, De Lacoste, De Lacostes, De Lacauste, De Lacaustes, Coste, Cost, Cost, Couste, Caust, Costes, Causte, Caustes, Decoteau, Costil, Cotel, Coteau, and numerous more spelling variations are all used to spell this name.

The logo element:

In the frenzied Roaring Twenties, René Lacoste, a young and talented tennis player, is already making an impression with his classy play, sense of fair play, and innovation, which would become a trademark of the brand ten years later.

After a Davis Cup match in Boston, an American journalist refers to René Lacoste as “The Alligator” about a bet the tennis player and his coach made regarding a piece of crocodile luggage. Artist Robert George designed the crocodile logo in 1927.

The great tennis player Novak Djokovic embodies the values of sportsmanship, fair play, and tenacity as forth by René Lacoste. In 2017, he took on the moniker “New Crocodile.”

Lacoste has selected 15 pieces from each era to celebrate its 85 years in business. Shortly, Lacoste will release Save our Species, a minimal edition collection that will include ten endangered species in place of the company’s traditional crocodile logo.

The slogan element:

The motto of Lacoste, a French clothing company well-known for its instantly identifiable crocodile logo, is “Life is a Beautiful Sport.” This tagline encompasses the company’s philosophy and the essence of its products.

The meaning of this slogan can be interpreted in one of two ways:

Adopting an Active Lifestyle: Lacoste, created by French tennis legend René Lacoste, has close ties to the world of sports, particularly tennis. The slogan conveys that life is similar to a mark and underlines the importance of being active, enthusiastic, and involved. People are motivated to approach life with the same zeal, persistence, and sportsmanship demonstrated in several athletic pursuits by it.

Sports are mentioned in the tagline, but it also conveys the idea that life should be thoroughly appreciated and relished. Competing and overcoming challenges are equally crucial to discovering beauty and joy in everyday circumstances. In the same way, as sports may provide excitement, pleasure, and friendship, the slogan encourages people to consider life an adventure and to cherish the small moments that give it purpose.

Finally, the Lacoste motto, “Life is a Beautiful Sport,” embodies the brand’s sporting heritage and conveys the notion of living life to the fullest.

The color element:

The color palette of the Lacoste is the following:

The mouth of the crocodile is scarlet, while the crocodile spots and eyes are all white. Usually, the animal is on a light background, though it can also be the other way around, like a white alligator in a rectangle of green.

The website:

The Lacoste website is simple, straightforward, and user-friendly. It uses the colors grey, white, and black. The navigation bar is at the top of the screen; below the screen, you can find crucial components such as the company store, social media, etc.

All of the valuable components of the brand, such as its history, purpose, and the latest news, are also included on the website.

And that concludes the brand identity of Lacoste. We discussed crucial components, such as the company’s identity, positioning, and elements. For more entertaining and informative blogs like this, please stop by our main website.