My conversation this week focused on branding and its evolution
in this new and very different economy. And I was fortunate to be
having this conversation with one of the more insightful branding
souls out there, target=”_blank”>Marc Stoiber.

Marc also runs his own consultancy helping companies to, as he
coins it, “create future-proof brands.” We talked about his very
interesting career trajectory, his personal evolution into the
world of sustainability along with the unique perspective he brings
to it, and finally, what he feels companies both need to pay
attention to and let go of to survive down the road.

Marc is a marketer. And he found out early on that you cannot
convince people of something by constantly harping on the problem -
something he saw as pervasive in the industry.

Using Unilever and Nike as examples, he declares that the most
enlightened companies have actually leapfrogged past the green
brand. These companies are building green into their projects but
not muddying the waters by saying it’s a green shoe or green
soap.

Their products, rather, are simply built into the brand and they
are seeding the message through third party outlets such as
bloggers and, well, radio shows.

By doing this, companies get the word out and they get
green cred without introducing green into the brand where, in the
majority of cases, as Marc puts it, “green isn’t really part of the
brand DNA.”

This brings us to future-proof brands. While reflecting, Marc
saw something bigger than green, something bigger than simply the
conventional brand, and something bigger than the innovation that
is sitting there.

Future-proof brands take it several steps further. It includes
sustainability and innovation (big and world-changing innovation);
but also adds good design, whereby people understand it across
cultures; deep insight of companies (helping set companies up for
the next 50 years), and social interaction, creating brands like
fishbowls, where companies and customers create feedback loops of
ideas and inspiration.

As he puts it, “We are living in time financial chaos,
environmental chaos, information chaos, and finally a time of
cultural chaos. People are scared and don’t know where to turn. So
I asked myself how could I help create brands that like a salmon,
swim upstream effortlessly in this sea of chaos.”

Good news: Despite the whirling dervish of chaos out there, Marc
is excited about the future and sees this time as incredibly
dynamic. Half of the top 100 companies out there haven’t yet
effectively lined up their brand message with their sustainability
actions so there is ample opportunity out there for smart people
who can help.

It’s a big puzzle and people who figure out how to look at whole
system are going to do extremely well in the future. And, as he
states, creativity is assuming its rightful place at the top of the
food change. That brings a smile to my face for sure.

Nature
of Business radio, created and hosted by Chrissy Coughlin, is a
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