The British Royal Family: from a patenting authority to an iconic brand

Abstract

Nowadays, the British Royal Family, apart from being a political institution, is present in the cultural heritage of not only the English population, but also in the global community. But how could the commercial side of this political organization, initially established as a matter of patenting products, with the so-called Royal Appointment, become an institution recognized as a worldwide known brand? Is it possible to mark, in the history of the BRF, the development of one of the most famous iconic brands? In the first chapter, the analysis starts with the description of how the brand economy was born, to show the process of transformation from trademarks to brands. The aim is to show how the birth of the brand economy is identified with the origin of the trading process, with seals and marks, and then evolved into the modern concept of the brand management system. In the same way, the BRF, as what we may interpret today as a brand, was born in the 12th century as the Royal Appointment. In the second chapter, the idea is to examine the history of the Royal Appointment, focusing on two main periods: from the 12th to the 14th century, observing how the Royal Family started to relate with the trading people; and from the 14th to the 20th century, the period in which the Royal Appointment evolved as a patent, being adapted to the evolution of the trading process. But not only the BRF became commonly renown because of the legal nature of the Royal Appointment, it was also recognized as a corporate brand. In the third chapter, after having defined the concept of “heritage brand”, the aim is to analyze how, thanks to cultural heritage and brand tribes, the BRF can be described as a corporate brand, with its own branding mix and brand identity. The final part of the research is focused on the last step that may enable the BRF to be globally recognized as an iconic brand. The last chapter starts with the theoretical analysis of how a brand can become an icon, to demonstrate that the same process was developed by the BRF, in order to give an interpretation of how a brand that was born as a patent, possesses now, thanks to its peculiar characteristics, great economical and identity values.