Changing of the Guard: From Building Longevity to Living Brands

With the growth of digital technologies, it sometimes feels like the world is changing faster than ever. Change seems to have sped up even more over the last few months too.

It’s little wonder that the techniques our brands used in the 1990s or early 2000s no longer resonate. The Internet and social media promised a revolution in the way brands connect with people. Gone are the days of mass-market broadcast advertising. Streaming services like Netflix and Spotify let us watch and listen to whatever we want, whenever we want. That means no more gathering around the ‘tube at a designated time to catch this week’s episode of our favourite show. (In fact, there’s often no waiting at all-we can binge whole seasons of shows.)

The speed of cultural consumption has increased. A new show drops on Netflix, we talk about it on social media for a week or two, and then we move on to the next thing. The same is true with the news: the ongoing protests in the US dominated the news cycle in late May and early June. Now these stories have all but disappeared from people’s timelines, even though they’re still ongoing.

Breakneck speed and individualized service means we can’t rely on the techniques of a bygone era. It also means we can’t focus on “building” longevity for our brands. That requires a…