The other half of brand relevance
When we decided to go public with Futureful Consulting, our collective experience boiled down to one thing, brand relevance. Keeping brands relevant was relevant!
Because there was no fixed way of defining brand relevance for the kind of consultancy work that we were paid to do, we were determined to develop a point of view. Research agencies had their frameworks, but they felt rigid. Consultancy boutiques prided themselves on being bespoke. It was a sign of intellectual rigour.
In previous companies, while teams may have relied on a set of implicit tools, our approach was always bespoke. This applied to identifying white spaces for baby foods in new markets; taking global brands into emerging markets; developing pet food propositions; future-proofing industries; or positioning brands and propositions.
However, the rate of change and brands’ abilities to navigate this were becoming more complex, and we felt there was a need for a bit of structure (while still maintaining that intellectual rigour).
We embarked upon the Relevance Series, candid conversations with senior clients to understand the challenges that they were facing. We backed this up with a comprehensive review of corporate and sustainability strategies, and trawled hundreds of case studies. We have had the privilege of discussing relevance with senior leaders across some of the world’s biggest brands; I am grateful for their generosity.
Throughout the series we discovered that brand relevance is so much bigger than the brand, the consumer and the competitive set; we all agreed that there is a whole other half to brand relevance, driven by internal and external factors, that requires a whole business mindset. This was exciting; this was the consulting that Futureful Consulting offered – an ability to link brand relevance to the bigger picture.
This ‘other half’ forms the basis of the structure for our approach. Brand relevance is driven by internal and external factors. These factors include: the social, consumer and cultural context; technological advances; business and commercial influences; and environmental considerations.
The ability to truly advise brands on relevance requires competent handling of this ‘other half’ of brand relevance; comfort with strategic objectives, business numbers, operations, sustainability ambitions, R&D pipelines and so much more; while keeping an eye on the consumer, category and brand. Working cross-functionally within business helps to align brand relevance with strategic business objectives.
Brand relevance is only relevant for as long as it’s relevant, and there’s nothing more pressing than a change of corporate strategy caused by internal and external factors.