Rethinking Brand Strategy in the New Year

As the pandemic-induced restrictions are gradually being removed and businesses are beginning to reopen, there is a sense that the world might be returning to normal. The reality is that, during the lockdowns, we have been writing a new future. This year we have all experienced a rapid shift in consumer behavior and spending preferences; ecommerce and direct to consumer (DTC) brands have been forced to adjust strategy in order to reach an evolving audience.  

Various brands updated their packaging in September 2020, updated new logos, and in some cases created an entirely new brand identity, especially in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry. One such brand was Tecate, whose new designs elevate the brand’s iconic assets and extend its traditionally masculine identity to feel more progressive and modern. Tecate joins a number of male-oriented brands, such as Procter & Gamble's Gillette and razor brand Harry's, to create campaigns that are designed to appeal to a younger, more diverse and progressive consumer base.  

Harry’s ‘Not the same’ campaign celebrates independent thinkers and quirky one-of-a-kind customers that make up its target audience. On an interview with Mediapost, the brand mentions it hopes that efforts like this will continue to differentiate it from the competition. "We didn't treat customers the same as the big brands on autopilot had for years, and this mentality still comes through", they said. “Keeping prices the same following an innovation is something that just doesn't happen in our category." 

While a significant brand refresh can take months or even years to complete, much of the work emerging now has been fast-tracked in response to heightened competition for attention during the pandemic, changing consumer lifestyles, and behaviors that are creating new challenges and opportunities for brands. 

The pandemic has put a lot of brands to the test and forced businesses to adapt their strategies to new market conditions. These strategies will be tested further as the economy gradually reopens and people return to work. Several big strategic challenges have emerged: adaptability in the face of rapidly changing demand patterns, incurring major expenses during unexpected falling revenues, and incorporating virtual ways of working. How businesses respond during this time of great uncertainty will have long-term impact for the brand when the economy begins to recover. In the recent PwC CFO survey, nearly 71 percent of business leaders from companies with more than $1 billion in revenue said they view this crisis as an opportunity to emerge stronger, particularly related to product and service innovations. 

Inclusive brand marketing describes campaigns that embrace diversity by including people from different backgrounds or stories that individual members of an audience can relate to. While some inclusive campaigns make an effort to break stereotypes, others simply aim to reflect or embrace the individuals in the real world. With successful inclusive marketing campaigns, businesses can target and highlight people or groups that might be under - or misrepresented throughout society. 

Diversity and inclusive brand marketing are, by nature, not one-size-fits-all. It is about understanding and embracing what makes your audience or customers unique. By highlighting what is interesting, inspiring, unique, or different about your audience and how your brand supports them, you might find new audiences that see your campaigns, start identifying more with your brand, and realize that your brand connects and aligns with their lifestyle. 

One such brand that does this really well is Coca-Cola, which is notable for connecting multiple different stories together by highlighting the major things people have in common, such as love for the beverage, hopes for world peace, or national pride. If you have a diverse audience that uses your service or product, use marketing to highlight how your brand brings people of all kinds together rather than target a set of disparate or unrealistic personas. Brands should recognize that purpose creates distinctiveness and will be key to growth in the modern era of marketing.