Branding Evolution: The Digital Landscape is Mutating Brand DNA
Branding has been a serious art and science of the advertising industry for the past 50 years or so. It can be argued that modern branding was born from the 50’s television era and the need to stimulate consumption among the mass market of consumers. The vast majority of branding at this stage was centered around consumer packaged goods (CPGs). Presently, we are experiencing a branding evolution. This can be widely attributed to digital based communications, mostly the Internet.
If we fast forward from the 50’s up to the early 90’s, branding took another leap. Remember, a major thrust of branding was to differentiate a product from other products on the shelf. But times changed and new companies started introducing new techniques into the branding landscape. Let’s take a look at Starbucks. Instead of just focusing on a product and communication around the product, they took a different approach. They focused on delivering a top-quality product through a unique experience that was a catalyst for new consumer behavior (the upscale coffee shop lifestyle). With these three key areas, Starbucks created a megabrand.
Now, let’s leap into the present and we have integration between traditional and new media. This allows companies to communicate brand messages for their products and services through deep experiences that stimulate desired behaviors among a group. This is completely changing the game when it comes to branding.
Today, branding encompasses buzzwords such as participation, engagement and openness. However, these buzzwords do have credence in present brand strategy. Thanks to technology, mainly internet-based technology, consumers can participate openly with brands that facilitate a two-way dialogue through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. As a result, consumers have more control than ever. As consumers are allowed to deeply engage with a brand and participate in brand-based conversations, they can actually help shape the brand of a company more than ever before. The old axiom, “listen to your customers” has never been more prudent and viable as it is today. Through technology, brands can listen in to conversations on the Internet about their brand, address issues and concerns, measure consumer engagement and respond in real-time to a variety of brand experiences.
The complete DNA of brand strategy is evolving and it’s moving fast. It’s an exciting time to be at the forefront of this marketing evolution. I strongly recommend reviewing what time period your organization’s brand strategy is living in. Is it mid-20th century or late 20th century? Is it fully evolved to today’s standards? Companies that don’t evolve with this movement will become extinct. At Rhythm Interactive, we feel this is so paramount to achieving client success, we modified our byline a few years ago to “Immersive Brand Experiences.” We did this in order to capitalize on the future direction of marketing and advertising. We’ve adapted and evolved, and so should you.
