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THE TOP5 BRANDTRENDSTHAT WILL SHAPE
2019& BEYOND
For Brand Lounge, 2019 is the Year of Differentiation, we have been witnessing some major changes in the way we connect and perceive brands and how we experience the world around us.
This year, we have uncovered 5 Brand Trends that will shape our understanding of the brand building process & approach.
These trends are answering strategic questions on how do we stand out in this distracting world while being meaningful and authentic?
Brand Lounge Trends 2019
Whenever we claim something is the “new black”, it means that it’s here to grab attention and stay for a long time as the hottest trend that won’t fade! Whilst differentiation isn’t an unknown strategy, it has now become more imperative to differentiate, preferably in more than one way. Given that consumers have a plethora of options in just about every business category; businesses stand a very limited chance of surviving if they do not differentiate in this overloaded world of corporate and personal brands. Thus, competition between businesses is now more intense than ever, as they strive to differentiate and establish their own unique selling point.
DIFFERENTIATIONIS THE NEW BLACK
To survive and run successfully in the current market, brands must differentiate or die. The only other alternative is being a low priced option in the brand’s specific category. The differentiation strategy the business pursues must target a segment of the market and be able to deliver a clear message that the product is superior to all other similar products. The reason why certain brands have been able to attain iconic status and market leadership is that they have been able to grasp how to differentiate themselves and, in some cases, dared to be different. Starbucks has differentiated itself from its competitors primarily by providing customers with a warm, welcoming culture in an environment that is clean, comfortable and feels like home. The company overshadows its competitors by focusing on continuously evolving and elevating the customer’s experience. Starbucks also differentiated by removing its name from the brand’s logo, since the
company had successfully secured a place in the minds of consumers, which meant that the Siren symbol was enough to recognize the brand. Another example of a brand that differentiated effectively is Airbnb, who took an unconventional yet effective approach to hospitality by creating a model that disrupted the traditional way of how people travel. Unlike its competitors, Airbnb focused on giving people from all around the world an experience that would make them feel like they can belong anywhere.
Be the big fish in a small pond(find your Niche)
Find what makes you stand out, a trait your competitors don’t have & run with it.
Think multidimensional! On how to differentiate, functionally, emotionally, societally & culturally.
TREND
OBSERVATIONS
TIPS
Brand Lounge Trends 2019
To learn how your brand can be differentiated, email us at [email protected] and let's start talking!
THE FALL OFINFLUENCERSAND THE RISE OF PERSONAL BRANDS
TREND OBSERVATIONS TIPS
This year onwards, branding by association is going to become more essential for the success of any collaboration - we will witness a transformation to the new B2B (Corporate Brands to Personal Brands) model. Influencers stand for something, have a strong visual identity and are constantly communicating with the world, which indicates that they are developing into personal brands and have to be mindful of their actions. Huda Kattan and Pewdiepie, are examples of influencers who have now positioned themselves as successful personal brands. Professionals, like Ellen
Degeneres and Elon Musk, have also established a similar status. With this shift taking place, influencers and professionals will have to work towards creating a more structured image for themselves in a way that will benefit them and their promoting partners. This way, the content shared is likely to be more authentic and will generate, what we call, higher REA (Responsiveness, Engagement, Authenticity), which will be beneficial for both the brand and the influencer.
Developing into a personal brand comes with a high risk; the individual is now in the limelight and will be judged for their content, online behavior and partnerships. Hollywood actor, Jack Black, recently started his YouTube channel (Jablinski Games) as a means of forming his own personal brand and managed to attain three million followers in two weeks, with approximately 22 million views. While these are impressive statistics, joining the world of vlogging could potentially be risky for his image, if he isn’t careful with the content that he shares on his channel and the collaborations he participates in.
Corporate partnerships with mismanaged image portrayal or a mismatch in values can back-fire for both the brand and influencer. In the case of Kuwaiti beauty blogger, Sondos Alqattan, Max Factor and Shiseido decided to suspend their partnerships with her, after she made derogatory comments about Filipino domestic workers. Both brands are strong advocates for women empowerment, and so it was in their best interest to cut ties with her for the sake of protecting the image of their respective brands and what they stand for. This shows that influencers and brands are becoming more selective about who they work with, to ensure that their partners have the same beliefs as them.
Corporations should recognize influencers as Personal brand and collaborate accordingly.
If you’re a personal brand be mindful who you collaborate with for it can affect your brand image (Vice Versa).
In order to grow into a personal brand, you need to forget that you’re an influencer.
Brand Lounge Trends 2019
To find out more about how to sucessfully collaborate with brands, email us at [email protected] and let's start talking!
CONTENT:FROM KING TO SERVANT
TREND
OBSERVATIONS
TIPSIn 1996, Bill Gates stated that, “Content is King”, a phrase that has been quoted for several years since then. However, we are now living in an era of digital natives, where the only ‘king’ is the customer. The primary focus of marketers revolves around appealing to the customer and catering to their needs at all times. Content needs to constantly be tailored in a manner that is clear and connects with the customer’s ever-changing needs and wants, due to the dynamic age of digital and social media. The overall brand message delivered via content must be compelling, meaningful and differentiated so that the audience remembers it.
Recognizing content as the ‘servant’ rather than the ‘king’ puts emphasis on the fact that the purpose of content is to serve the audience, which is essential for creating content that connects to them. According to a study conducted by Time Inc., which surveyed 17,000 individuals across three major age demographics (Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z), 90% of consumers prefer customized content from brands. This shows that people look for content that provides them with information that is valuable and relevant to their current needs; content that is interesting and engages them. By developing such content, brands will be able to form a relationship with their customers based on loyalty and trust.
Serial entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, is a great example of a content creator who goes the extra mile to make content that his viewers would like to see. He gathers community insights via the comments section under each video and encourages his viewers to comment with a time stamp to
identify which part(s) of the video they enjoyed the most. Not only does this generate more engagement, but it also enables him to make content that appeals to his viewers.
Listen to what your audience have to say, through comments, reviews & feedback.
Create content catered around your audience.
Conduct surveys and polls to get a better understanding of what your audience want.
Brand Lounge Trends 2019
90%consumers prefer
customized content
Let's create content that puts your customer first. Email us at [email protected] and let's start talking!
THE DAWN OFINTERACTIVEEXPERIENCES
TREND OBSERVATIONS
TIPS
People need to be immersed in the content, for the customer is not always right, the customer now is always in control. Marketers now understand that static content no longer does the trick. They have now found more than one way to keep their audiences engaged and in control whether it’s through interactive infographics, video, polls, etc. Social media platforms have incorporated the use of interactive content in applications such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, who have now included AR, gifs, and polls as additional features. Facebook and YouTube have also introduced 360º
and VR videos, respectively. Due to the increase in demand for interactive experiences, companies are finding new ways to produce content where interactivity is the main feature. Tools like VR, AR, and MR have also helped businesses take the next step in creating interactive experiences for their customers. A recent survey by Go-Gulf stated that 93% of marketers see interactive content as effective, and 88% of marketers are aiming to make 10-30% of their content interactive the coming year.
Cisco Systems has recently suggested that the use of VR and AR technologies will increase 20 times more by 2021. Therefore, as interactive technology is becoming more prevalent, companies across various industries are finding different ways of implementing it within their activities. Netflix recently raised the bar with Black Mirror’s first interactive feature film, Bandersnatch, where viewers had the ability to decide the journey and outcome of the movie.Furthermore, the Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba, launched
Buy+, a VR device that allows users to browse and buy items virtually and make payments via Alibaba’s payment application. IKEA released an application called “IKEA Place” that allows customers to view furniture from the comfort of their own home through AR.
Invest in engaging content to keep audience immersed in the interactive experience through either quizzes, VR, MR, AR, white papers & eBooks, etc
Think about tools that can help start a conversation between audience and your brand through new video technologies such as 360º videos.
Interactive content is not limited to expensive technologies, it can be created through social engagement such as polls, interactive GIFs and videos, etc.
Brand Lounge Trends 2019
93%marketers see
interactive content as effective
88%marketers aim to create interactive content in 2019
Together, we can create interactive experiences. Email us at [email protected] and let's start talking!
huge success on social media where over 500,000 photos were shared using the #ShareaCoke hashtag and the number of followers on Facebook increased by a whopping 25 million. Coca-Cola also applies the same message, to spread positivity, within the company, making it a brand that truly lives its purpose.
BRAND WITH A PURPOSE?
SO WHAT?TREND
OBSERVATIONS
A brand purpose can no longer simply be an idea or a promise, as the old saying, goes "Actions speak louder than words.” Having a brand purpose is no longer as simple as knowing what the brand stands for; customers need to buy into it. To do this, the company must activate their purpose. According to Forbes, 75% of consumers globally expect brands to contribute to their well-being and quality of life, while a second study indicated that activating a brand purpose is especially important when marketing to millennials, 71% of who say they would opt for a brand that drives social or environmental change. The days of simply claiming
to have a purpose are well in the past; a brand must live and breathe its purpose and communicate this through every company touchpoint. As companies throughout the world continue to strive on differentiation in
overcrowded industries, the purpose driven brand is the one that earns the loyalty of its customers by engaging them with the company’s purpose.
Brand purpose is an idea that is bigger than profit; it is at the heart of the business strategy to drive long-term sustainable growth. In recent years, a business having a purpose that is beyond profit has been identified as an effective way to gain a positive brand image. Coca-Cola is an excellent example of a company that constantly activates its brand purpose, which is to inspire moments of optimism and happiness. The brand’s “Share a Coke” campaign is testimony to the brand’s ability to successfully roll out its purpose in a way that makes it engaging and unforgettable for consumers. This is proven by the fact that the campaign has been running every summer for the past five years, due to the positive responses it has received. Within the first year, the campaign became a
Preach and abide by your brand purpose starting internally then through your communication channels.
Use the rich resources you have as corporate entities to support your people and communities that live both inside and outside the organizations.
Use your brand purpose to connect with your audience not just functionally but also emot ional ly.
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TIPS
Brand Lounge Trends 2019
Find out how your brand can live its purpose. Send us an email at [email protected] and let's start talking!
71%millenials opt for a brand that drives
social change
THANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/10/23/the-importance-of-building-brands-with-pur-pose/#619b418e4b09
https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/dear-sondos-al-qattan-please-don-t-hide-behind-your-hijab-1.754338
https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/major-beauty-brand-drops-kuwaiti-influencer-sondos-al-qattan-who-remains-un-apologetic-over-comments-1.753414
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100715/what-makes-share-coke-campaign-so-successful.asp
https://www.ioninteractive.com/resources/infographic-tools/75-stats-infographic
https://izea.com/2018/03/09/content-marketing-statistics-2018/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2018/04/25/when-starbucks-looked-its-brand-purpose-in-the-eyes/#62113d843dbe
https://marketeer.kapost.com/interactive-content-conversions/
https://www.go-gulf.com/blog/interactive-content-marketing/
https://blogs.cisco.com/sp/will-ar-and-vr-deliver-your-real-life-matrix-moments
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
HASAN FADLALLAHFounder & [email protected]
MOHAMED BADRCOO & Head of [email protected]
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
ASHWINI SIRURBrand [email protected]
ADNAN HAMMOUDDigital [email protected]
DESIGN
HAMMAD SHEIKHSenior Brand [email protected]
REFERENCES
For enquiries on how we can help your organization prepare for these trends, please contact:
Brand Lounge FZ L.L.C.Brand ConsultancyDubai Design District, Bldg 6, 209BP.O. Box 282379 Dubai, UAEt +971 4 434 7152f +971 4 43 2 [email protected]