Insight by Andrew Collins
I found this article up from Mailman Group website where CEO Andrew Collins makes some interesting points about brands staying relevant the article can be found here;
http://www.mailmangroup.com/2011/12/watch-for-consumer-cues-to-stay-relevent/
If you keep reading it is here as well…
How many brands closely watch ‘consumer cues’ to drive brand decisions? After all it’s the consumers whom actually create trends, push trends or even squash trends. So if it is the very consumer whom decides that the fate of your brand is the question- how much are you paying attention?
Culture can have a profound impact on the success of brands. Observing past sub cultures that make their way to mainstream trends as in the case of hip hop music in America once could have foretold the burgling success brands like Rockport, Adidas, Reebok and others had whilst embracing early signs of the now ‘popular culture’. However, it was never rosy to begin with-there are many tales of ‘establishment’ knocking down the movement that was fast transcending beyond urban ‘African American’ culture.
What happened during the early eighties with hip hop is a process that occurs over and over again as sub cultures emerge, disappear and sometimes boom. So what are they? And how do find them? Firstly with the expense of stating the obvious- you gotta listen to your people. Partake in active dialogue with your consumer (and better yet the ones who don’t like you) and create a funnel of delicious insights can be used to quench the appetite for your brand and strategic development.
People change. Tends change. Attitudes change. And all this faster then you think. Just ask Reebok with the height of the 80-90’s in athletic wear about management ignoring the signs, the authenticity of the brand and the brigade of fans shifting to any alternative. It can happen to any brand at any point. A more recent case is MySpace- don’t we all remember that one.
Listening, observing, responding are the three steps you can issue to embrace change and to stay ‘relevant’. The current is always moving- so ask yourself ’are you going with it or against it?