Blend With Trends
Dr. Debbie Kristiansen
Senior Vice President OVG Middle East -EEA Distinguished Leadership Award- UN Women USA Rise & Raise Others Award- Female CEO of the Year - Top 50 Global Inspirational Women - Board Member-Doctorate EIU Paris France
Living in the era of technology and digital advancements, it is no wonder the innovation for new games and trends continue to evolve. Despite the warm welcome of both the old and new generation, some are skeptical towards the effects of these said trends.
5 reasons why brands need to blend with trends:
- Growth – A brand should thrive on change and evolving. Once you engage your consumers, they will remain pro-active as they are loyal.
- Learning – There is no definite recipe for success. Success depends on a continuous learning process and along the way, trial-and-error is the guaranteed method to know what works for your brand and consumers.
- Welcoming generation Y – The new generation is fierce with their ideas. We as brands should adjust, as well as being an example as to how adapt one’s brand identity alongside the shifts in trends.
- Transform – A brand's strong foundation is built on conventional factors but this could be “packaged” in a manner that will be welcomed warmly by the new generation. We should not perceive them as “young” but as capable, smart individuals.
- POV – Explore the limits of your comfort zone in order to visualise your consumer’s point-of-views.
Trends such as the Pokemon Go app are inevitable. With the usage of technology constantly evolving, companies must adjust to it and adapt it. Ideas that we have now were once frowned upon back in the day but ended up being the most successful innovations of all time. It’s once said that ideas are constantly being recycled and that no idea is original. Though this is true, adding your own creativity and idea into the mix allows you to come up with a completely different product.
We as consumers are presented with various choices to improve our lifestyle and entertainment on a daily basis. As brands, we are given the opportunity to maximise these trends by involving ourselves and welcoming change. Change is inevitable and is the only constant thing in this world. Being a part of the conversation becomes personal in the sense that your consumer is regarded significant because their input is regarded significant.
After much observation, the new generation is more conscious than its predecessor. According to the 2011 PEW Survey, they are considered “digital natives” as they are vocal individuals or social-savvy millennials.
Digital development and its brainchild provide opportunities for brands to grow and evolve with it. Why fight it when it could be our greatest strength? The only hindrance a brand will ever face is their own limits.
"companies must adjust to it and adapt it. Ideas that we have now were once frowned upon back in the day but ended up being the most successful innovations of all time" I struggle to think of examples that this has been adopted and adapted in the Middle East. This mode of thinking requires the courage of real creativity, rather than packaged solutions that companies prefer. Creativity, from my own observation working with large and small companies over the last 30 years, is measured "by the kilo" rather than ascribe real KPIs to the effort. That's why innovation is never at the cutting edge here. The best we can hope for is last year's ideas. Pokemon Go is a case in point. I'm not aware of any company (including telecom operators who should have been the early adopters) that has effectively used this phenomenon. I'd love to be corrected.
General Manager Austria
8 年Cognizant and to the point!
Senior Events Lead (Marketing, Communications and Operations)
8 年I've had the pleasure of knowing Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen for approximately 11 years now . She is an inspirational business woman and a role model to so many of us ladies .
Helping CEOs of GCC-based tech & FMCG companies build brands that drive higher valuations.
8 年Would you see pokemon go as a trend or a fad? Just wondering.