Branding in 2010

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.

I thought I would start the New Year with a post on key trends for 2010.

Although brands are long-term initiatives and things like maintaining your brand purpose should never change, it is important to understand how the world is changing, and how your brand must continue to stay relevant to your consumers and employees!

I believe the key trends in 2010 boil down to the idea of brands “being human”.

Since the market crashed we find, in the US, only 13% of the population trust corporations! That means the majority of people are highly skeptical of organizations/brands.

I read an article recently, 10 Branding Trends for 2010: Value is the new black, and what it said was:

“Consumer spending, even on sale items will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. This may spell trouble for brands with no authentic meaning, whether high-end or low"

So, what this is saying is that organizations must create genuine reasons to believe in brands! This does not come from a one-way dialogue where the brand states its positioning and we’re all suppose to believe it. Rather, it has become a multi-way dialogue, where people (both your current/future consumers & employees) are talking to each other to validate the brand's claims, learning if what it has said rings true through its actions and latest innovations! And trust me, people will find this information, as they are more hungry for information than ever before, as seen in the Trend Watching Infolust trend briefing, because it’s so accessible!

Brands can no longer treat themselves as these all mighty, untouchable beings! Rather, they need to realize like everyone else, they are human! Capable of stumbling, making mistakes, and being seen for whom they really are!

Instead of hiding mistakes, which will inevitably come to the surface and make you look shady, feature what’s broken! People will admire your honesty, and feel better knowing that a brand is confident enough to say, “We’ve made a mistake”. But the crucial part, is to acknowledge the mistake and then take a corrective path – “We’ve made a mistake, and this is what we’ve done to fix the situation”.

Actions are essential, like people, actions speak louder than words. What we do defines who we are. So to build back that lost trust and credibility with people, and create consistent stories about who we are, what we do and why it matters, we must act on our brand purpose. We must innovate with our brand purpose in mind, we must hire with our brand purpose in mind, and we must remain relevant in ways that satisfies our brand purpose!

So for 2010, brands must realize that they are human (not immortal), and shouldn’t hide their flaws as people will figure them out, only creating greater distrust! Therefore, brands must be honest, open and speak through actions to influence consumers’ “reason-to-buy [your brand] at all”.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to many more exciting comments and topics to come about in 2010!

Nik