Did the Spice Girls start personal branding in the music industry?

After watching the Beckham documentary on Netflix, I have fallen back in love with the Spice Girls but looking at them now through a design lens I’ve realise how important their style of branding in the music industry was.

Most girl/boy bands are styled as a group having a collective voice to market, wearing the same outfits and having a group name. That’s what was so brilliant about the Spice Girls that each girl had their own personal brand and marketed to a different audience, allowing not just one target market, but five.

Even the names were catchy! Rather than using their everyday names, like most artist do, they became their brand ‘Scary, Sporty, Posh, Baby and Ginger’. Then the question was at school, which spice girl are you? (I always wanted to be sporty spice, but was rubbish at P.E). It allowed people to think about who they resinated with most and instantly make a connection with their brand.

We need to bring back the individualistic approach to branding, creating authentic and unique design to stand out from competitors rather than confiding to the norms and expectations of certain sectors.

Adding more personality to your brand will allow more connection with your audience.