Five Ways To Ensure Your Brand Survives
‘The world is witnessing change and upheaval at an
unprecedented rate. Will your brand meet the challenge, or be
relegated to the trash can of history?’
Google ‘why
brands fail’ and you’ll be rewarded with upwards of 85 million
matches.
Given this abundance of expertise on the subject,
you’d think creating bulletproof brands would be as easy as tying
your laces. And yet, brands are crashing and burning as much as
they always have. Probably more so.
Why? Well, the 5 or 6 articles I read on the
subject (I didn’t manage the full 85 million) certainly don’t
help.
Almost all focused on predicting what had already
happened - why brands had succumbed in the past. A bit like
predicting someone’s death after they’d
died.
Truth is, it’s much more difficult to point out
predictors of future success. Especially in a world rocked by
massive cultural migration, climate change, economic upheaval and
revolutionary new forms of communication.
Having spent some time building brands at the
intersection of sustainability, innovation, insight and design, I
believe I’ve gathered some useful battle wisdom. I’d like to share
it by describing five pillars I believe will help brands survive,
and thrive in our brave new world.
I founded a green brand agency in the heady Al
Gore days. At that time, I believed sustainability would become the
brand megatrend of the 21st
century.
I was right. And very
wrong.
Sustainability does make business sense. In a
world of diminishing resources, heightened environmental
legislation and vigilant NGO’s, it is a smart brand insurance
policy.
But sustainability is also a political wedge.
Mention green, and 50% of Americans run away, while the other 50%
cringe and wonder how much more it will
cost.
Smart brands like Nike believe the solution is to
incorporate sustainability into their brands, but not use
sustainability as a selling feature. If brands were an onion, you’d
have to peel back a few layers to discover the green technology in
Nike shoes.
This is smart for two
reasons.
First, it prevents sustainability from upstaging
the brand’s key attributes. Nike’s are about technology that
enables athletic performance. Period.
Second, sustainability becomes a hidden reward
for brand mavens to discover. They can unearth the sustainability
story with a few clicks, then spread the news themselves. On the
other hand, those wanting to lambast Nike for environmental
omissions will be pleasantly surprised to peel back layer after
layer of sustainability initiatives, culminating in the company’s
comprehensive Corporate Responsibility
report.
My green brand agency was acquired by one of
North America’s premier innovation agencies, which allowed me to
work in a field that defines progress for
business.
What I learned was that far too many companies
are ill-equipped to produce a steady stream of innovation. Most
approached it haphazardly…there were a few pet projects in the
pipeline, and little to no methodology for producing a steady
stream of new products, services and business
models.
Today, companies that methodically generate both
evolutionary and revolutionary innovation are leading in their
fields. Tomorrow, factors like reverse innovation and rapid idea
realization through new technology will wipe out companies that
aren’t passionate about innovation.
insights
I was greatly encouraged to hear about BMW’s new
iProject. Not because it was set to deliver new electric BMW’s to
the market, but because it had broadened the BMW brief from
‘ultimate driving machine’ to ‘mobility’.
Think about it. More than half the world’s
population has moved to cities. Megacities are becoming the new
norm. Gas prices are not going down. The ultimate driving machine
insight may fast be approaching its best before
date.
On the other hand, people will never stop moving.
By adopting the broader ‘mobility’ insight, BMW is opening up an
entirely new avenue for innovation. And guaranteeing brand
relevance far into the future.
It pays to hold up your key insights to scrutiny,
and brainstorm on their relevance in the future. At worst, this
exercise might provide you with the alarming news that people won’t
need your product in the future. At best, it will get you thinking
with broader scope, and answering briefs that allow far greater
innovation.
More than ever before, cultures are mixing and
ethnic groups intermingling.
The relatively homogeneous culture our parents
knew is gone. In its place, we see a world where English is not a
first language, America is not the sole generator of popular
culture, and ideas do not flow in one direction from developed to
developing markets.
In this cultural cacophony, what do all of us
understand? Design.
Good design creates a visceral reaction in
people. It conveys beauty while aiding function. It generates
feelings of wonder and drives desire.
One need only look at the international passion
for all things Apple to understand that people can instantly
appreciate products that convey a strong design sense. Good design
sells product, and helps new users make the most of that
product.
Is your product well designed? Give it to a child
or to someone who doesn’t speak your language, and see if they can
understand how to use it. Even better, see if using it puts a smile
on their face.
I cut my teeth in an advertising world where
brands were displayed in metaphoric show windows - consumers were
only allowed to see them in their best light, and there was no
interaction allowed.
Today, brands are like fishbowls. Consumers can
look at them from every angle, even stick their hand in and slosh
around the water. There are no boundaries.
Established brands (and their agencies) have had
a difficult time with the transition. There’s still a yearning for
control, for proper presentation, for giving consumers only the
good news. Complete transparency is a frightening
thing.
But transparency and honesty is long overdue. If
brands have been harming the planet or people, it’s time to come
clean. Unsettling changes may be needed to make brands more
virtuous. Is that a bad thing?
Brand?
These five pillars are just a few of the
keystones of resilient future brands. Spend some time with them,
and doubtless you’ll discover other issues that are equally
important.
The most important thing to do, however, is pay
attention. Think about how your brand would fare under the lenses
of sustainability, perennial insights, design, innovation and
sociability. Or engage someone outside your company ‘jar’ to have
an objective look.
By Marc Stoiber
The world is changing rapidly. Will your brand
survive, or become fodder for the next Google article on brands
that crashed and burned?
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