It’s time to think about your brand differently, for a better future. 

We are all well aware of the changes our current circumstances are going to have on us in the near future, but what about the long term? If you own a brand, it’s time to think about how the world is going to change. Take into consideration the possibility of on-and-off again lockdowns (potentially through 2024, if the world's largest vaccine producer is right). We need to create a vision for the future.

One of the major shifts we have seen from consumers is how they see and interact with digital content. People are spending longer than ever before on social media, and are becoming aware of how important it is to create ‘safe’ online spaces. Consumption of media through streaming services such as Netflix, Prime & Apple TV+, along with gaming on Nintendo & Playstation have all changed rapidly in the last 6 months and are putting systems in place to sustain the business and deliver new experiences to keep customers engaged. And so should you. 

Coronavirus won't kill off all businesses, but it will change them forever. It’s time to think about the ‘Long Idea’ and not the ‘Big idea’.

The challenge for marketers is to change their outset on marketing, long ideas post-COVID means seeing the world as most consumers do, not just to last, but to live! Design with the mindset that you need to balance your short term demand with the companies' long term strategies; this is the only way to outmanoeuvre competitors in the same field. Designing campaigns this way hits all 3 of your horizons; the now, the near and the next. 

While it can be scary to think about changing the way you approach marketing, you should embrace it as a positive outcome from a negative situation. For better or for worse, COVID has revolutionised the digital landscape, changing how consumers consume products and connect to the ones near and important to them. We are all aware of the digital rise in communications across services such as Teams, Slack & Zoom!

This can also be seen in the short-term explosion in e-commerce. This should be a great base to improve and change the message of your marketing if the business hasn’t already got long-term e-commerce at the forefront of their operations.

Is the prospect of the next 1-48 months scary? Definitely, but can we work to help change the message of business and the story we tell consumers? Absolutely.