I am told that if you drop a frog in boiling water, it will jump
out immediately, but that it stays in the water and dies if you put it
in cold water and gradually heat it up.
This is known as the frog's paradox, and is the title of a "how to cope
with change" business book recently published in France.
I am of the opinion that 2001 will witness sharp changes in consumers'
areas of interest and expectations. Globalisation is no longer a
business circles buzzword; it is becoming part of everyone's daily
experience in increasingly varying and visible ways. It is now
established that environmental phenomena such as global warming are a
direct consequence of human economic activities. The Maldives and parts
of Bangladesh are high on the list of places that could disappear with
rising sea levels, largely due to fossil fuels being burnt elsewhere. We
are already seeing some major brands adapting their communications (and
hopefully their behaviour), most notably Shell and BP. This is only the
beginning, as consumers become more aware of the issues, and more
inclined to adopt those socially and environmentally responsible
brands.
Globalisation can also, too often, mean uniformity. We at Publicis
prefer a globalisation process, which leverages and respects diversity.
This is what our network is about, and, therefore, our positioning - La
Difference.
Differentiation is what we offer advertisers, our partners, it is what
they are looking for in order to make their brands win and last. The
other ingredient of course, is passion - where else do we get the energy
to jump out of boiling water?
