In recent years, waves of crises have disrupted our daily lives: climate emergency, Covid-19, war in Ukraine, energy crisis, inflation, yellow vests... As journalist John Glancy wrote in February 2022 in the Sunday Times, we have entered the era of permacrisis. « As if history had torn off our buoys and armbands to rush us into a whirlwind of events that follow one another so quickly that no one can predict the consequences. » Previous crises were solely financial and economic. But the period we are going through is not a parenthesis before a return to normal, but a period of profound changes. As instability becomes the norm, individuals' coping strategies have repercussions on their purchases and their relationship with brands. In such a context, how to adapt and make a difference?
More than a parenthesis, profound changes that affect consumption
Permacrisis systematically takes precedence over urgency, and requires permanent rehabilitation of both companies and individuals. It is a diffuse feeling of anxiety that generates changes in behaviour and influences consumption patterns. Many observers speak of a return to basics. This is now stimulated, to a large extent, by the return of inflation: in 2023, 31% of French people say they have difficulty getting by with their household income (+ 6 points since 2021 – source TGI Kantar). According to Kantar, in 2022, three-quarters of consumer arbitrage is in favour of the cheapest products. But the price is not the only compass: the return to face-to-face in the office leads to seek time savings and this translates into a 49% increase in traffic for home delivery as well as a renewed attractiveness for hypermarkets and local shops. Finally, concerns related to the environment are also gradually becoming part of habits: 22% of spending in 2022 by the French was on so-called "food transition" offers and 48% of households plan to limit food waste.
An "opportunity" for lifelong rehabilitation
The intertwined crises and the changes they generate basically reveal the opportunity for a new model built on permanent rehabilitation on the part of companies. They face a real challenge of flexibility. It is necessary to fundamentally rethink the brand and all the trades that build it as levers of planning and strategic action of the company. In short, put the brand back at the center.
But how to reinvent yourself? This is the purpose of the work we are carrying out at the Union des marques, bringing together specialists, brand managers, members of our LabCMO. Together, they reflect on the implications and opportunities offered by the period for brand building.
On the strength of these exchanges, we deliver today the ten essential levers to manage your brand in a permacrisis environment:
- Enhance the brand. It is part of the intangible capital of the company, considering it a frivolity or a convenience would be a serious mistake. Thus, the brand should not be seen as an expense but as an ongoing investment, just as essential as those of R&D or IT. This is the lesson of the 2008 crisis where brands that maintained investments came out strengthened while those that stopped net had a hard time emerging afterwards.
- Place CSR at the heart of the brand's business model. Larry Fink, the boss of Blackrock, wrote in 2018: "to prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society." CSR is an attribute that accentuates the promise of the brand, without replacing it. The positive impact and the consideration of externalities allow companies to create extensive value, i.e. economic, of course, but also for society and the environment. This topic is on the 3rd step of the expectations of the French towards international brands (source Kantar 2023). This should not be forgotten in the context of inflation.
- Sanctuarize its core brand. In times of crisis, the core of the brand promise is even more important. Do not hesitate to go back to basics, simplify your offers and ensure the trust capital that the brand generates.
- Engage its stakeholders and take care of its employer brand. We are experiencing an irreversible societal transformation. Commitment and people are key. Companies today are glass buildings and transparency is the norm. An external posture not aligned with internal practices will create a damaging breach of trust for the entire brand.
- Develop a real reflection on generational issues. The transformation underway requires not only to understand more finely but also to act with the youngest. Generational breaks are accelerating and accentuating: a 25-year-old no longer always understands a 17-year-old. The question arises in terms of promises and content of brands, and also in terms of strategy of means: should we continue on usual media mixes or increase efforts on new channels?
- Continue to innovate... but... Innovation must contribute to strengthening the core brand, and above all, its incremental impact on sales must be indisputable. Gadget innovations should be avoided and brands should position themselves on innovations that truly improve the consumer experience. This requires renewed and agile development protocols that involve all stakeholders in the company.
- Monitor its penetration. In times of crisis, penetration losses can be fatal, especially for "mid-range" brands. It is important to map and have the agility to implement all possible marketing actions to secure fragile customers: adaptation of formats, return to more simplicity ...
- Constantly work on pricing. Not only because we live in an inflationary context but also because we must become, more than ever, consumer value centric: know the price elasticity of our brands and know how to increase quickly in the face of rising costs, without increasing margins excessively.
- Be frugal in the use of data. The explosion of data can sometimes be illusory, generate too many marketing actions and create too much complexity for the consumer. It is preferable to focus only on data that summarizes the key steps of the customer journey.
- Act in coherence with its ecosystem. The brand is not an island and it will emerge strengthened from a collaboration in harmony with its ecosystem (agencies, media providers, etc.).
Trademarks in the era of permacrisis Brand Union
Never before today, faced with such challenges and questions, must we share and change to move forward together. The current situation offers us the opportunity to become aware, as in many other countries in the world, of the power of the brand and its ability to federate energies and teams in a collective project at the service of extended value. It is the role of the Union des marques, with its 250 member companies and 1,600 members, to create this dialogue and this permanent co-construction.
- Jean-Paul Brunier, Director of Synergies & Communication ComCreaTech, IONIS Education Group, former executive at Publicis Groupe and Chairman of Leo Burnett.
- Laurent Guillaume, Senior Executive Advisor of MAARTIN agency and former President of the KANTAR group and TNS Sofres.
- Béatrice Mandine, Senior Advisor of Hopscotch, ex-Dircom of Orange.
- Jean-Luc Chetrit, Managing Director of the Union des marques.
- Sophie Roosen, Brand and Impact Director of the Union des marques.