Does anyone else still miss their blackberry? How about hoopla around Microsoft office updates? Or Gap Chinos? As WFH winds down, could these heritage ‘office’ brands make a comeback?
These brands belong to a time and place when ‘office life’ was an aspirational idea. It was the place where you made deals, made money, and made progress. Regardless of how true that really was, it was part of a generation’s identity to be go-getting entrepreneurial careerists, always tethered to opportunity via their faithful Blackberry. ‘Blackberry Thumb’ was a workplace injury that was borne with pride – that red flashing light was a literal status signal.
But then we had the financial crisis, covid, cost-of-living and the rise of WFH, and ‘brand office’ gradually lost its aspirational shine. A new wave of brands associated with footloose tech arose. Creative, disruptive and ubiquitous, iPhone contemptuously swept the Blackberry aside. It may be true that iPhone had better functionality, but a less recognised reason for Blackberry’s demise was that the idea behind it didn’t resonate anymore. Brand ‘office life’ had curdled.
As the return to the office continues, there’s a fresh chance for a new wave of brands to emerge. A new phone, lunch favourite and fashion leader for the next generation. But to do that they will need to understand what the idea of the office is for today. As the new pattern of office life settles in again, can a new generation of brands find meaning in the old 9-5?