The future of marketing, branding and product design will not reside in shaping people needs, but in creating a bond of authenticity with consumers.
The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting millions of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. It will accelerate the shift in consumer's habits and it is urgent for companies to reinvent themselves and anticipate the return to a new normal by realigning their brand and product strategy.
Changes will emerge and will continue to emerge post the current crisis. These shifts will eventually shape a better world and consumers will turn towards authentic brands they can identify with.
Respect, sustainability, integrity, loyalty are core values to drive brands creative output and make the difference in tomorrow's world. Today is the perfect time to redefine your brand's mantra as authentic, believable and engaging.
"Authenticity is like elegance, this is not something money can buy."
Being genuine doesn't happen by accident; it must be cultivated. As brand grows and financial pressure takes the lead of the business, management switch to maths, statistics, excel sheets and reports that are fine tuned to please and reinsure investors. Slowly but surely brands are loosing their momentum and reason to exist, founders loose their bond with creativity and the root idea that gave birth to promising ventures. Consumers feel betrayed and do not buy into a brand which has lost its values and that they can't no more identify with...
In time of economic downturn the middle market consumer will be tempted to eliminate unnecessary spending and will bash brands which do not create a bond with them.
It is time to step back and realign with the brand idea and core values that created the initial bond with core consumers and rethink product and collections strategies. Do it now.