June has been a month of events, both in Italy and Germany.
As commitment for 2024, my team and I have planned to participate in several conferences and speaking opportunities, both to present some of our new projects and as guests.
I find that for all of us, it has been a first semester of learning and strong reflection. Sometimes we tend to underestimate what we are doing internally, caught up in the need to achieve immediate results or the next goal always around the corner, and we forget to stop and understand where we are and what we have achieved.
In many sessions there was a focus on the impact of artificial intelligence, which is present as a topic in every possible platform. There is a lot of talk about it and with good reason because there will be changes in the marketing world as well. At the moment people are trying to understand the tools even though mostly the big players have the opportunity to experiment while others are trying at least to access it. In this regard, very interesting has been the reflection of Christine Antlanger-Winter (Country Director Google Switzerland) who talks about the transition from “failure culture” (which is no longer sufficient) to “experimental culture,” in which we facilitate contexts where people have the courage to experiment and even to recall a product in case its impact is not as hoped.
A context that facilitates such an approach to innovation and experimentation is only made possible by a major step change in terms of leadership and corporate vision. Google is perhaps an interesting example of how organizations and their managers will need to rethink themselves in the near (not so near) future if they are to stay abreast of change and attract the talents and skills needed for progress.
In this regard, a special reflection goes to the function of branding, which can no longer be tied solely to advertising or promotional positioning but must go further in terms of reputation, social responsibility and cultural innovation. In a world where the use of automated digital media will increasingly tend to standardize messages and contents, a strong strategic and creative vision will be needed to differentiate. And the real differentiator will be related to “values”. People and consumers are increasingly attentive to strong and consistent value systems over time.
And these, represented by the brand is transformed into economic and strategic value.
At the Richmond Marketing Forum, I was pleased to note that Francesco Cordani, Head of Marcom Samsung, also made reference to the fact that globally, brand counts for 1/3 of business value and that from 2019 onward and that premium brands with a strong identity and consistency also have a strong impact on business success.
About Brand Equity I also talked a lot with Richard Haigh with whom we have been working in this area for years and whom I met in person at Imbrec (link) but also with Francesco Sordi (Surf the Market) at the Richmond Marketing forum. And many others with whom I have had many good opportunities for discussion that have also allowed me to take a deeper look at what is happening outside, to see things from a new perspective, cultivate ideas and design new initiatives.
Many challenges are on the horizon that will require high level of preparation and professionalism. Moments of meeting as well as networking for mutual support are and will be more and more important. I like to think that together we create a new system that can be based on high values and expertise.
See you at the events in the second half of 2024.