At the dawn of digital, many had predicted “the end of branding as we know it,” and while the discipline of branding has changed dramatically in the past decade, having a distinct, valued and engaging brand is more critical than ever before.
Increased competition, commoditization and the speed of change call for brands to become the point of convergence and the catalyst for the alignment of business strategy, customer experience company culture.
The old way of thinking about brands as static collections of untouchable artifacts that need to be closely policed is no longer a fit for the fast-changing world. In fact, the traditional approaches that have long shaped brand management now present an obstacle achieving the business benefit that a strong brand can deliver.
This new view of brands requires a new approach to brand management – an approach that is less rigid and more flexible; less like a brand bible and more like a playbook.
With the very foundation of branding as we know it shifting, every business and marketing leader needs to ask: Is it time to rethink the way we manage our brand?
An agile, disruptive world calls for an agile brand.
- We need to understand how to think about brands differently.
- We need to learn how to design brands differently.
- We also need to create a new framework for managing brands differently.
Specifically, we need to:
- Build brands around a strategic purpose that creates shared value for all stakeholders,
- Create brand experiences that engage and move our audiences, and
- Empower internal brand managers through education and company culture, enabling them to make decisions on behalf of the brand
Read on to learn about new approaches for thinking about, building and managing a modern brand – for today and tomorrow.