14 Brands & Branding Brands & Branding 15

Dr Thomas Oosthuizen is a brand and communications strategist at The Brand Wealth Organisation, who has offices in Johannesburg and Dubai. The company works for companies like Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, AngloGold Ashanti, Media 24, MTN and Bidvest in South Africa, Africa and The Middle East.

The brave new brand world: Are we ready?

xxxxx Dr Thomas Oosthuizen

The importance of the relationship of brands with society has increased dramatically. The importance of the environment, of caring about people and communities, of putting staff on the same level as shareholders is crucial.

Consumers, even in emerging economies, are gaining wide media access.

Consumers are more informed about brands than ever before, making them more critical and quality conscious.

The nature of media has changed forever.

Brand differentiation is low. It is also unlikely to ever become significant again, except for first mover brands.

How do we deal with these changes?

1. The context within which brands are managed is changing from high control to low control (some may say “no control”).

2. We are moving from (largely visual) brand representation to brand engagement.

3. Brand integrity is central to the future of brands.

4. Brand ‘talkability’ seems to transcend traditional attribute association or differentiation.

5. If you can, be the first-mover brand within any new market you enter.

6. Change happens fast! This will also make brands more volatile.

Let us review some of these changes:

Emerging economies have now overtaken developed economies in GDP. The centre of gravity for brands has shifted.