In today’s transient culture, shaped by trends and fads propagated by influencers and digital media, heritage brands can be a reassuring constant in an age of flux and uncertainty. By virtue of their longevity, they can stand as bastions of trust and pillars of reliability. Yet the conditions in which these iconic heritage brands once emerged have changed. Their continued existence cannot be taken for granted.

Over the years, some of the oldest and most well-loved brands have shut up shop. Debenhams (founded in 1778) failed to reimagine its department store experience and reinforce its e-commerce presence. Woolworths (founded in 1909), beloved purveyor of the Pick ‘N’ Mix and seller of Halloween costumes, CDs and myriad household goods, failed to rally against the rise of pound stores. Laura Ashley (founded in 1953) failed to evolve and modernise its product offering beyond chintz florals to entice newer and younger consumers.

Recently, The Body Shop - probably the first high street beauty brand of its kind to really champion conscience-consumerism and channel the activist zeitgeist - announced that it was closing its stores. While, arguably, its principles and corporate ethics resonate more deeply with consumers today, it could not keep up with the pace of change nor make itself relevant in a saturated marketplace full of exciting and equally principled upstarts that successfully harnessed the power of social media.

So heritage brands today face a very real threat of being deemed irrelevant and behind the times. The fragmentation of human interests, pluralist principles and culture compounds the challenge further.

To survive and thrive in a climate of breakneck change, it is clear that heritage brands must remain timeless, authentic and true to their founding values yet be agile enough for revitalisation that engages modern consumers. This is no easy feat. It requires careful consideration of what exactly needs to be elevated within the brand and what needs to be left in the past in order to flourish in a future very different from the time of a brand’s conception.

A brand’s history might be as long as it is in the tooth but the presumption that everyone knows and appreciates a brand’s heritage is a dangerous one to make. Brands cannot take for granted that their long-established reputation precedes themselves, nor can they always bank on the power of nostalgia.

Brand stories need to be retold and passed down to engage with newer audiences and stay relevant. Via the medium of brand identity design, language and narratives, heritage brands should do so in such a way that it chimes with the interests, behaviours and concerns of modern consumers. It does not matter if the brand concerned is a heritage confectionery label, a champagne or a car - the principles remain the same. These powerful assets must then be mobilised across modern channels and touchpoints. It’s not just how a brand looks that’s important but how it behaves. With the rise of AR, VR and AI, it’s clear that heritage brands must ensure their story translates seamlessly across these physical environments.

Revitalising old brand stories and identities means using heritage as a platform for inspiration to devise a brand identity system that is still respectful of provenance but exudes a new energy that is aligned with a company’s evolving value systems. The visual triggers that will have become iconised (think of Coca-Cola’s beloved hourglass-shaped bottle as a case in point) may still stay the same - and indeed they should as these are familiar design codes that remind consumers “we were here first and we were best in class” - but these may be re-engineered to suit modern aesthetics and signify a new dawn or chapter in a brand’s journey.

Take Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth management groups which has a unique heritage dating back to 1742, which sought to redefine its brand identity strategically and visually without losing sight of the company’s heritage and core values. A bespoke typeface and colour palette visually consolidated the brand’s tone - a confident, knowledgeable authority on wealth management.

Meanwhile, the amplification of a compass symbol, originally lost, reflects Rathbones’ maritime past through a contemporary lens, resulting in a simplified yet potent device which acts as a seal of quality. But there was a deeper rationale to the compass’ reintroduction too; it alluded to the symbolic significance of the compass and the purpose of Rathbones: to navigate customers seamlessly through the complexities of asset management and to remain directionally guided by a belief system that facilitates ethical decision-making.

Heritage brands that historically work with vintage and classical products can easily be misconceived as dusty and unmodern, thus losing engagement with a contemporary audience. Christies, the iconic global auction house founded in 1766, is an example of an identity which allowed little flexibility to express the depth and diversity of its expertise beyond the pieces of old masters. Critically, Christies needed to redefine its positioning and penetrate the global and, in particular, the Asian market by reinvigorating its brand identity to encompass its contemporary offering - auctioning everything from Elton John’s boots to a Banksy. Consistency yet flexibility across territories was key; the identity needed to translate cogently across all artistic modalities and markets to the extent that, even if the identity were conveyed in a different language - say, Chinese -  it would still remain indelibly and unmistakably Christies. Powerful and bespoke typography and brand marks have the power to operate and transcend these nuances when struck in the right way and so these assets were tweaked to achieve this goal and reinforce Christies’ growth in international markets.

A powerful visual representation of heritage brands and institutions is the crest. The crest has come to symbolise kinship, achievement, status and legacy. These design devices have typically been seen on everything from armoury and statues to flags and heirlooms. Crests are proud symbols of heritage, but this apparent ‘strength’ could be considered a weakness and, whether it is intended to or not, may be interpreted as signifiers of great inequality and social injustice. Can crests ever be re-engineered to reflect heritage brands and institutions operating in a modern era?

City & Guilds, founded in 1878, is a global leader in skills development, working with governments, employers and educators in over 50 countries. Yet, its brand mark undermined the modernity and forward-thinking principles of the institution itself. It required a new visual identity system that celebrated its rich heritage but positioned it as a collaborative force that connected modern-day workforces in a globally competitive market. It was clear that its iconic symbol needed recasting - not too much that the brand mark became unrecognisable, but enough to celebrate heritage and espouse a future-facing feel that aligned with modern innovation and change. Thus, its iconic lion symbol was re-crafted using heraldic shapes inspired by the original 16 liveries, with the design defined, still distinctively City & Guilds but paired down to express modernity whilst retaining the air of prestige and authenticity that serves as a hallmark of reassurance.

Heritage brands must create the perfect synthesis of old and new, combining modernism and classicism to effectively leverage their history whilst remaining relevant in this challenging modern age of constant flux. It means intertwining the past and present into one single and cohesive brand narrative, sometimes even uncovering lost stories and retelling them in an authentic way. Brand rejuvenation is key for heritage brands that want to future-proof and remain relevant rather than become a relic. Celebrating provenance but also the evolving values that resonate with modern concerns should be a key part of a heritage brand’s strategy to survive and thrive in these uncertain times.