“Change is all around – is your brand ready?” was the question posed in the first session of this year’s MARQUES Annual Conference in Dublin. A panel moderated by Robert MacDonald of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP addressed topics including economic shifts, trust, transformation and their impact on brands.

Winds of change

What are the five winds of change driving the world? In his presentation, Jan Willem Velthuijsen, Chief Economist, PricewaterhouseCoopers in The Netherlands, discussed megatrends. “These are the long-term trends that make the world in this century different from the previous century,” he explained. These five winds are summarised as ADAPT:

(1) Asymmetry in personal wealth and access has risen; income differences have grown and the way we allocate wealth is moving, he said: “We are not always subtle in how we do that, and we don’t have explicit discussions about what is fair.” Some jobs are at risk of being automated away. “The gap between the haves and have-nots is getting bigger partly because of digitization … that is a fundamental challenge we have not faced yet.” Jan Willem asked: Where – eventually – does the value of a brand land?

(2) Disruption. An explosion of technologies – such as genomics, robots and the Internet of Things – has become valuable thanks to digitisation. “We have already seen some outsiders entering other industries unannounced. Now we see it in every industry, such as automotive and energy.” That means brands are entering new areas, and facing challenges from established brands in other sectors. It will also lead to a more network economy, at the expense of big conglomerates. “It doesn’t make sense to be a very big company. What does that mean for the longevity of your brand? Staying in existence for 100 years is not guaranteed!” said Jan Willem.

(3) Ageing. A million more people leave the labour market each year than enter it in Europe. “That is massive – for healthcare, pensions, care homes and more – that we haven’t seen before,” said Jan Willem. Japan has already shown the challenges that ageing creates. But in countries such as Nigeria the opposite is the case: the number of young people is soaring, and these young people act differently in the way they work, live and shop. “There is a yearning for a purpose, including in the company they work for – they want that company to pursue certain objectives,” said Jan Willem. He added that we have to see elderly people differently: they are fit and active and wealthy, but he warned that brands may not be able to appeal to both the elderly and old.

(4) Populism. Anti-elitism can be seen in many ways in the ballot box. “Individuals can now influence economics, for example to block or stimulate mergers,” said Jan Willem. “That is new – whether it is good or bad I leave up to you. But it means brands can be politicised, and that was not the case 15 years ago … Beware of the angry mob and beware of the role of social media. Are you ready for an attack on your brand?”

(5) Trust. “Trust reduces transactional costs, and increasing distrust raises costs. It is deteriorating in almost every domain,” said Jan Willem. Digitalisation itself raises questions about trust, for example concerning data. A brand is ultimately about trust, so does it become more expensive to protect if trust in general diminishes?

The transformation paradox

In his presentation, Simon Black, Chief Strategy Officer of Design Bridge discussed “The Transformation Paradox” and the concept of the “flexible masterbrand”. He said that there are “two totally different approaches to marketing from legacy brands and start-ups” citing the example of the rise of smartphones and the decline of Kodak, and the emerging personal brands in the fashion industry that threaten the traditional houses. “Legacy brands have to observe, learn and continually evolve,” he said, giving the example of Carlsberg Pilsner. In this context, trade mark practitioners are “true asset managers” bridging the past, present and future of brands.

But he also issued a warning: protecting what you already have may be stifling who you could become. To reap rewards, brand have to transform how they protect ideas and focus on the future not the present: Unilever and Guinness are great examples of this. “We need supportive, progressive attitudes from counsel to keep brands relevant,” he added, describing the evolution of the Guinness harp brand as “adding real craft and value to existing assets, reinterpreting the brand’s magic for today’s consumer”.

Need to react faster

Clare Willetts, CEO and Founder, Not Only Pink and Blue discussed change, trust and fake news, saying: “The world is never static … Brands need to react faster.” Using examples from the Virgin Group, where she used to work, Clare added that “trust is one of the most important things brands have to have” and that means values and actions have to align: “Brands have to dig in and be part of what they say they are. CSR is no longer enough.” Virgin Holidays, for example, now includes single parents and LGBT families in its advertising, while Cadbury updated entire packaging as part of its “Donate your words” campaign.

Brands need to think about rectifying old wrongs, having trusted partners and how to respond to challenges. Deciding brand values “involves people from all around the organisation … to get to what is distilled down to a few words,” said Clare. “Sometimes it’s hard to hold yourself to account when you’re inside that brand. Service providers are trusted partners in that.”

A lengthy discussion, with several stimulating questions from the audience, covered topics including how to build and maintain trust, adapting to different cultures, appealing to different demographics and brands' responsibility for provoking populism.