Modern Brands in the Modern World

We’ve always believed that standing still is the fastest way of going backward. Success depends on the ability to adapt and constantly reinvent yourself in an ever-changing world. Brand marketing is no different.

In the not so distant past companies were confronted with the choice of broadcast or print advertising. That was it. Sure, it made life simple, but it also limited opportunities for a brand to genuinely connect with its audience.

Now with so many platforms for advertising, a company’s brand can transcend the limitations of a 30 second spot or a double page spread. Customers can interact with a brand in a way that was inconceivable even ten years ago.

With the dominance of social media, the 21st century has given modern brands permission to take a more playful, adaptive approach. With so many more spaces to play, there’s greater encouragement to take risks and step outside the norm. A brave marketing approach is now a compliment, not a criticism.

Striking the right balance between serious and seriously playful

As with all things, it’s necessary to find the right balance. You want your brand marketing to be edgy, creative and flexible. At the same time you need to remain true to your core values and brand messaging. Playfulness should be used to engage customers – both old and new – without losing sight of the serious side to your branding.

This serious side helps you deal with aspects of the business such as government, corporate clients and suppliers. But even this needs to stay adaptable and fluid, otherwise your brand will stall, along with your business.

Modern brand transformation in action

Times are changing and creating a brand personality that connects with the audience has never been more important. As advertisers we have to move away from the thinking about brand identity as a one-way communication between a company and their audience; it has to be more fluid than that.

It’s a way of thinking particularly evident in our team’s work with Teachers Mutual Bank. For this client, we created a unique brand transformation strategy that ensured they stood out from other banks. We developed a warm, welcoming personality that connected on a strong level with the audience, while still maintaining their core values of integrity and reliability.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that the branding strategies of the future need to be adaptable and fluid. Without this flexibility, it’s not just marketing strategies, but the future of businesses themselves that will be cut short.