The Rise of Fluid Brands: Why Categories No Longer Matter.
- Martina Ellis
- Apr 5
- 4 min read
Updated: May 24
Once upon a time, brands had borders.
Coca-Cola sold soft drinks. Nike made sneakers. Chanel was synonymous with haute couture.
A brand was a box—neatly labeled, clearly defined. The entire business world operated on categories—industries with hard edges, markets that rarely overlapped. You competed within your lane, and if you were lucky, you dominated it.
But something changed.
The internet blurred boundaries. Digital ecosystems replaced single-product businesses. Consumers no longer saw brands as just a product or service—they expected an experience, a worldview, a universe to belong to.
The best brands stopped playing by category rules.
Today, Apple isn’t just a tech company. It’s a luxury brand, a finance company, and a cultural symbol. Netflix doesn’t just stream shows—it’s building a video game empire.
Welcome to the rise of Fluid Brands.
The Death of Fixed Categories
For decades, brand strategy was built around category dominance:
Position yourself as the best in X category.
Compete on differentiation within your industry.
Defend your market share from competitors.
But here’s the problem: Consumers don’t live in categories anymore.
People don’t wake up thinking, “I need a product from the luxury skincare category.” They think: “I want something that makes me feel beautiful.”
People don’t care whether a brand fits a traditional mould. They want brands that move with them, shape their experiences, and evolve alongside culture.
This is why the brands that win today aren’t stuck in rigid industry boxes.
Nike acts like a media company, producing documentaries and digital fitness experiences.
LVMH isn’t just fashion—it’s an ecosystem of luxury across hospitality, venture capital, and digital commerce.
Amazon is a bookstore, a cloud computing giant, a Hollywood studio, and a healthcare provider—at the same time.
The strongest brands today don’t compete within a category. They create their own gravity.
What Is a Fluid Brand?
A Fluid Brand is a brand that moves between industries, adapts to culture, and evolves with consumers.
It doesn’t just sell a product—it sells an experience, a community, a way of thinking.
The 5 Traits of a Fluid Brand:
Industry-Agnostic → It doesn’t limit itself to one market (e.g., Apple isn’t just “tech,” it’s luxury, finance, and entertainment).
Experience-Driven → It integrates brand, product, and content into a seamless ecosystem.
Culture-Embedded → It doesn’t just respond to trends; it creates cultural capital.
Digitally Elastic → It moves effortlessly between digital, physical, and virtual worlds.
Business-Model Fluid → It generates revenue from multiple sources (subscriptions, experiences, collaborations).
Think of it this way: If your brand disappeared tomorrow, what would the world actually lose?
Fluid Brands are the ones that would be missed—not just as a product, but as an experience, a movement, and a belief system.
The New Rules of Branding in a Fluid World
If categories are dead, how should brands operate?
Forget traditional positioning strategies. Instead of defending a market, brands must create their own worlds.
Build a Brand World, Not Just a Brand Position
Traditional branding asks: “How do we stand out in this industry?”
Fluid Brands ask: “How do we build an ecosystem people want to live in?”
Supreme didn’t just sell clothes—it created a cultural universe of exclusivity and streetwear drops.
Red Bull doesn’t just sell energy drinks—it built an entire media empire around adventure and extreme sports.
New approach: Instead of defining your category, define your gravitational pull.
Stop Selling Products—Sell a System
Most brands sell products or services.
Fluid Brands sell experiences, influence, and access.
Netflix used to just stream shows—now it’s expanding into video games, events, and interactive content.
Lululemon isn’t just activewear—it owns fitness studios, mindfulness apps, and wellness retreats.
New approach: Instead of thinking in product launches, think in ecosystems. How does your brand interconnect with different industries and experiences?
Monetise Attention, Not Just Transactions
Traditional brands rely on one revenue model. Fluid Brands monetise across multiple dimensions:
Direct sales (physical products, services)
Experiences & memberships (Nike Run Club, Apple Fitness+)
Collaborations & partnerships (Gucci x Adidas, Balenciaga x Fortnite)
Digital-first brand extensions (Ralph Lauren in Roblox, Ferrari’s esports division)
New approach: If your business model is tied to a single revenue stream, your brand is vulnerable. Build multiple layers of value creation.
Blur the Line Between Digital & Physical
The future of branding isn’t online vs. offline—it’s seamless, interconnected experiences.
Gucci’s metaverse activations aren’t separate from its real-world brand—they extend its cultural influence into new digital spaces.
New approach: Your brand isn’t a product—it’s a universe. The stronger the experience, the more irreplaceable it becomes.
The Future: Adapt or Be Forgotten
The brands that fail to evolve will fade. The ones that embrace fluidity, adaptability, and cultural immersion will dominate.
The winners will be brands that behave like cultural, digital, and economic ecosystems.
Ask yourself:
Is my brand designed to evolve?
Am I stuck in a category—or am I creating a category of one?
If my brand disappeared tomorrow, would people actually miss it?
Forget rigid categories. Build a brand that moves, shifts, and reinvents itself.
The future belongs to Fluid Brands.
