Brand Management Today

In the past 30 years, I have witnessed significant changes in brand management and marketing. In this post, I will summarize what has stayed the same, what has changed significantly and what some of the most important considerations in brand management and marketing are today.

What has remained important over time:

• Having carefully identified the brand's target customers and having gained deep insight about their hopes, fears, attitudes, values, needs and desires
• Identifying and communicating the brand's unique value proposition 
• Having developed a well-thought through brand identity system and being consistent in presenting the brand's identity
• Being trustworthy
• Being dependable and responsive
• Product/service innovation
• For some brands, serving as a status symbol

What has emerged as very important:

• Creating the total brand experience - customer experience design including customer touch point design
• Focusing on customer service
• Telling a compelling brand story
• Interacting with customers through social media
• Creating a seamless online and offline presence 
• Gaining information on and targeting individuals
• Standing for something and sharing a set of values with customers
• Creating a community platform for customers who share the brand's values
• Being able to justify the value of specific marketing activities through measurement
• Delivering a good overall value, including delivering quality commensurate with price

And what has emerged as helpful to brands:

• Humanizing the brand
• Giving the brand a sense of humor
• Surprising and delighting customers, adding an element of unpredictability without sacrificing dependability
• Treating the customer as an intelligent human being
• For some brands, taking a courageous and admirable stand on societal issues