Brad Hames

“As cities become the place to be, products will reflect the hip-ness of the city,” says Brad Hames.  One way we see this as coming true is through branding.  The key to success in the coming years will be creating products which somehow capture the heart and soul of a city. This will work even better when a product or service is seen as a giant corporation with no personality. Having products which attempt to take on the persona of a city will go a long way to selling that product.

As one example take the US high-end fashion brand called DKNY, which recently released a fragrance called, “Love from New York for Women.” Another example of a fragrance which is capitalizing on the appeal of New York hip is  “High Line,” from the New York brand Bond No. 9. This fragrance is inspired by “the New York neighborhood experiment.”  According to the publicity surrounding this new product, “High Line” is “The World’s First Railroad Perfume with the scents of wildflowers, green grasses … and urban renewal.” As Brad Hames might say, “You really gotta love New York to wear a perfume that reminds you of ‘urban renewal.’ But as today’s trends have shown, the more urban, the more the appeal.