Rivian: A Masterclass in Brand Narrative
How does a company become a billion-dollar brand with zero revenue? Rivian might provide a useful clue.
Just a few weeks ago, we witnessed a company with almost no revenue become one of the most valuable brands in the world literally over night.
It managed to do so with one word: “Forever.”
Rivian went public on Nov 10, 2021. Three days after its IPO, Rivian’s valuation was $127.3 billion. A week later, it reached $140 billion, surpassing VW at $137 billion. This has made Rivian the №3 car manufacturer in the world behind Toyota ($306 billion) and Tesla ($1 trillion).
To be fair, this wasn’t an overnight success, nor was it the result of one word. It was over a decade in the making and thousands of people and their hard work. On top of that, there must have been countless efforts we the public don’t see, including what must have been a carefully orchestrated road show to lure investors prior to the IPO.
Rivian as a company was founded in 2009. It took almost 11 years for Rivian to ship the first production of R1T, an electric truck and its first consumer product to roll off the assembly line on Sept 14, 2021.
Recently, my business partner at I&CO made an observation on Rivian’s website: It doesn’t show any cars on its homepage.
If you didn’t know Rivian was a car brand, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the homepage.
This is completely counterintuitive for any company executive or marketer. A company’s website should clearly say and show what product it sells. Car companies especially love showing off their products. They want consumers to drool over their cars.
So, not to have a beauty shot of its hero product on its homepage is not an obvious choice. It certainly hasn’t been seen before by a car company.
But Rivian’s approach is a masterclass in brand-building in the 21st century.
So how is it doing it?
Narrative Driving Value
Rivian’s approach is audaciously bold, refreshingly simple, and surprisingly difficult: Have an authentic, purpose-led narrative for your company and deliver on it.
And in Rivian’s case, its leading statement is so simple that it’s one word: “Forever.”
The word “Forever” without context is vague and elusive. It could even be considered “yogababble,” a form of meaningless corporate drivel and a term coined by Professor Scott Galloway of NYS’s Stern School of Business. We have seen multiple billion-dollar companies skyrocket based on their clever yogababble but eventually flame out. WeWork, Theranos, to name a few.
But so far, Rivian seems to have a clear business model and an ability to deliver, making its narrative authentic and more tangible than other narratives we’ve seen.
Rivian isn’t the first company to have lofty goals and an ambitious purpose. But there are a few reasons why it’s standing out.
1. Simplicity of the Narrative
There are a plethora of companies touting the sustainability narrative lately–from mattress and apparel companies to energy and automotive ones. But I don’t see anyone having a narrative summarized in one word and more importantly, making it tangible and authentic as Rivian is managing to do.
2. Past vs. Future
In addition, when you compare Rivian’s and Tesla’s valuations against that of Toyota and VW, the underlying reasons are contrastive, as my business partner pointed out: Toyota’s and VW’s valuations are based on the scale of their business–and therefore their past–while Rivian’s and Tesla’s valuations are based on their potential and promise for the future.
3. Purpose > Product
Not showing your product as the first thing on the homepage of your website may not seem that big of a deal. However, it does require critical and clear thinking and a willingness to stick to what you preach. Rivian’s willingness is evident on the first page of its website. It’s far, far easier said than done.
Rivian talks about its products without talking about its products. This was an observation from another colleague of mine. For instance, the first line of copy you see on its product page is this:
It doesn’t talk about the car, its feature, or other things the manufacturer wants its customers to know about. It instead talks about what you as a driver can do with the product–explore places and make memories. After this introduction, Rivian does talk about its product features, all the bells and whistles. But the point I’m making is the emphasis Rivian puts on the first impression it tries to make, whether on the homepage of the company or the first page of its product.
As the saying goes, first impressions are lasting impressions.
Will Rivian’s narrative end up being yogababble? Or will Rivian live up to its own narrative?
I hope it’s the latter.