Latest Trends & New Perspectives On Brand Risks
Branding is the core of marketing, yet it is a strategic discipline that has been dramatically impacted by social media in recent years. It has opened the door to a great variety of activism and disinformation and as a result, companies are facing new types of brand risks. In light of this surge of threats to brands, it is important to stay updated with the latest trends and new research that can provide insights to help protect (and ideally build) brands. A few weeks ago (May 22), Boston University’s Questrom School of Business held a conference on “Risky Business: Understanding &...
Read MoreHow Storytelling Can Enhance Authenticity For Purposeful Branding
Branding has evolved over time, opportunistically responding to what will best motivate customers and differentiate it from competition – from product branding, to rational branding, to emotional branding to today’s altruistic purposeful branding. With young consumers increasingly demanding brands give more back to society, the challenge today is to create a promise that can be trusted and delivered – with credible authenticity. This trend for brands to create and communicate their CSR (corporate social responsibility) promises reflects a growing decline in trust in business. The Edelman...
Read MoreThe Rise Of A New Type Of Brand – The Outlier
A good brand offers a relevant promise and a credible point of difference, its “reason for being”. What is emerging today however, is a form of branding that focuses so much on being different that this distinction often becomes the main focal point, instead of the promise or benefit. This is happening in politics where new candidates (i.e. “outliers”) strongly emphasize their stance as a unique alternative to established rivals. Similarly new business ventures are offering a better value choice compared to traditional brand leaders. Behind this political phenomenon of...
Read MoreWhy Creativity Is Critical For Future Jobs…And Branding
In our world of rapidly evolving technology that is encroaching on everyone’s lives, there is no bigger transformative trend on the horizon than the expected impact of automation, artificial intelligence, robotics and algorithms on the job market of tomorrow. Clearly there is growing anxiety that technology developments will crush the jobs of millions. How can society prepare for such job replacements by automated technology? Many experts believe the answer lies with developing new creative skills that will enable people to adapt and even build on this new technological landscape. And these...
Read MoreWhat To Expect From Generation Z – Implications For Branding
We have heard a lot about Millennials (i.e., Generation Y), their impact on business, politics and society, and how different their values and practices are. Well, get ready for Generation Z. Their attitudes and actions are even more progressive and even more confounding to marketers. This Generation Z (born after 1996) is the best educated, most diverse and easily most open to emerging social trends of any prior generation. And their potential impact on commercial and political brands will be transformative. All brands should be strategically positioned to not only appeal to their current...
Read More
