How do you secure your digital brand for the future?
While some brands thrive in the digital space, others continue to grow in the real world. So where should you invest to ensure your brand’s survival?
Brands seem to have reached a pivotal moment, depending on who you listen to. I’m reflecting on a lively discussion with clients recently, about the shifting nature of branding, and the channels we use to communicate through.
“The future is digital,” announced one Apple Watch-wearing client, indifferent to the idea that there is any other way. Another wasn’t so sure, declaring, “human interaction, and the power of the physical experience will always be important to people.”
This is a paradox, causing many brand managers to pause for thought. Of course, omnichannel thinking has been with us for a few years now. But, instead of brand experiences becoming more straightforward and transparent, they’re becoming more complex, risky and expensive.
The evolving digital and physical landscape
According to Statista, 6.92 billion people own a smartphone in 2023, which means that approx. 86% of the world's population owns a smartphone. This means that more than two-thirds of humanity can now shop, relax and bank online, and should indicate that digital branding is the way to go.
The digital space has spawned brands that have reinvented the way we live (Facebook). It has given a wake-up-call to legacy brands that were slow to catch on (Polaroid). And it’s birthed new brands, that were inconceivable in the past (Spotify).
One company that has set the pace in the digital era is Amazon, a brand that has become an integral part of life for millions of people. And yet, they’ve recently surprised everybody, by acquiring the Wholefoods retail chain for $13 billion. The move is part of their physical retail strategy to develop the Amazon Go brand, which despite some teething troubles, is now being rolled out across the US.
Amazon's tablet Kindle seemed for a while to be the death of brick-and-mortar bookshops. Why would people bother going to dusty bookshops when they can download the book in seconds at a reduced price? It felt as though the good old paperback would suffer the same fate as other dead formats. However, the fact is that the English book chain Waterstones opened 13 new shops in 2022. The same is true for several other booksellers as well. So the debate about whether digital media is better than physical media is still ongoing.
What works today, may not work tomorrow, so don’t be media-centric, be people-centric, and you’ll connect with the customers that count.
While banks are closing branches as quickly as possible, they’re training elderly customers to become digitally savvy. On the other side of the street, coffee chains continue to expand, filled with millennialswho are rejecting the digital space.
Ironically, the so-called “Digital Natives” are looking for places where they can connect with other people in “real-life”. The drive for digital is often made for cost-saving reasons, but without a deeper insight into what customers want or need, it could be short-sighted.
It’s not about media, but about human development
I think I’m safe in saying, we’ve reached a turning point. The potential of the digital age seems only limited by our imagination. And yet, anything analogue provides us with the reassurance of something physical and familiar, that new tech’ can’t compete with. So, it’s not a question of one or the other. It’s about human development.
We as a society are always evolving, always curious, and always refining our choices. We continually look for ways to enhance our lives, from a practical point of view, or a sensory point of view. So brands that provide us with this, whether digital, or physical, will be sought out. The successful brand managers of tomorrow, won’t be media-centric, but will remain people-centric.
"What works today, may not work tomorrow, so don’t be media-centric, be people-centric, and you’ll connect with the customers that count."
Admittedly, we live in the digital era, the most definitive movement of our times, so it’s hard to make any case for physical brand experiences. But as the points, I’ve mentioned earlier prove, a blind commitment to one or the other is risky.
Human development can contribute to a stronger reputation with internal branding.
The customer has always driven demand. Understanding their needs, both open and unspoken, is fundamental to the connection. The successful brands in the digital or physical space live by this. Here are three characteristics that people-centric brands have in common:
1. Walk the walk and talk the talk
If you tend to follow what we write about, you will see that we are committed advocates of the importance of purpose in branding . The best brands are those driven by a desire to create a positive change in the world, no matter how big or small that change may be. These companies are different, sincere, open and consistent, in whatever context you may come across them.
In a fast-evolving world, people will recognise the long-term commitment that purpose brings. They will feel the passion, which creates trust, loyalty and long-term value.
2. Never stand still
As people, we are continually looking to improve our lives somehow. Brands that lead the way forward through new ideas resonate with a hungry public. Take Apple, for example, you would think that they would be true pioneers of the digital era. Despite this, they continue to open more high-spec stores, on the most expensive high streets in the world. They understand that people need to experience the depth and quality of their products. The best way to do this, is to offer the physical experience, that only a store can provide. Apple recognises that branding is a never-ending process, driven by people’s fundamental desire to seek out the new.
“Don’t be media-centric, be people-centric, and you’ll connect with the customers that count.”
3. Show that you care
In the past decade, brands have moved into another phase. It's no longer just about executing a trade. We, the customers, find this too cynical. We want more from our hard-earned money. Brands must prove to us that they can contribute to society beyond the pure benefits of their products. They have to be a positive force in the world. For example, they can improve a local community, offer useful career paths for employees, support a good cause, etc. These are the best ways to show that you are a people-oriented brand. We appreciate these brands' depth, integrity and human dimension, and assess this against those who are only looking to profit.
In Mission, we have worked with a customer in retail, where, among other things, the focus has been on finding a natural transition between shop and smartphone . Another project has been about using both digital and printed media for what they are truly worth when preparing annual reports for an IT company. We have also written guidelines for how a brand should express itself , on the one hand in social media, on the other hand in customer service. Undoubtedly, the two are very different situations to communicate in.
In all these instances, the channels we’ve been using have been questioned. Should we continue to use print? Should we commit to digital over all others? The answer in all cases, has been to focus on the strategy, think about the content, consider what the customer wants, and deliver the best brand experience for that situation.
What works today, may not work tomorrow, so don’t be media-centric, be people-centric, and you’ll connect with the customers that count.