Technology is driving change in how we operate, as well as how we
analyse customer experiences and how we target today's and future
communications, particularly in the new areas of ecommerce and digital
media
The brand marketing environment is undergoing one of the most radical
evolutions in history.
The most significant factors bringing this about are new technology and
new attitudes among many consumers willing to enter an online
relationship with brands and their manufacturers, in both the pre- and
post-buying phases.
In this new environment, brand management unquestionably requires new
solutions.
For too long, discussion in our industry has centred around whether it
should be mass communications versus direct communica-tion, or
'above-the-line' versus 'below-the-line'.
While this discussion has droned on and on, the market has changed. For
many, the train has left the station.
The challenge really is the management of the brand promise and
experience across all touchpoints, as well as all channels
holistically.
The brand exists in the consumers' heads and hearts and managing this
experiential relationship with a combination of communications
approaches will become the key challenge.
We have around us a rapidly changing business environment.
Technology is driving change in how we operate, as well as how we
analyse customer experiences and how we target today's and future
communications, particularly in the new areas of ecommerce and digital
media.
Technology is taking centrestage and those unprepared for the change
will fall even further behind.
Sometime ago, someone said, "No one likes change except bus
drivers".
Then, someone more enlightened, said, "Companies will have to eat change
for breakfast".
This latter point fits the environment for business these days. However,
there is an awkward twist to the advent of this new technology and it is
a major issue for the brand communications industry, particularly in
Asia.
Only the best and the brightest will act as a conduit for change for the
agencies.
These are the people who develop and drive this massive change in
delivery, but keeping and retaining them will be a big challenge,
particularly in the electronic age.
In so many cases these days, we see the best people leaving to start
their own businesses. Companies must be determined to keep these people,
recognise and promote them, so their entrepreneurial skills and
ambitions are fulfilled.
This problem is so acute that business will be forced to adopt new
models to retain the best.
It's also clear that the instance of people becoming organisations in
the future will accelerate.
Smart entrepreneurial people leaving corporations to 'go it alone' with
an idea or business model will become the norm.
However, their existence can be as quickly threatened as change and the
next wave of start-ups overtake them.
It is a challenging environment, to say the least. We at WCJ look
forward to these challenges and opportunities in 2000.
