Experiencial Branding: Sun Life Financial Event from Volckmann (& friends) on Vimeo.

We created an experiential branding event production for Sun Life Financial—to kick off their new business park. Guests experienced the thrill of espionage at a spy-themed launch event for the massive 2.3 –million-square-foot Côte-de-Liesse Business Park. To round out the event, we delivered a package that included a new brand identity, invitations, signage, brochures, actors and a computer-animated movie of the site pre-loaded into a USB-Spy Pen as a promotional tool. The event’s success paved the way for us to create signage for the business park and to devise the tenant signage program.

Consideration of brand in the purchase decision increased 20 percentage points since 2005—despite global economic turmoil... while some assets decreased in value, brand clearly wasn't one of them... check BrandZ's 2010 Report here...

http://www.brandz.com/output/

In fact, according to the report, brand value of Top 100 brands has grown by a "massive" 40 percent.

Brands are now more contextual in relation to the moving forces around them...

A world in motion. Social globalization/ social multinationalism. Brands exposed for what they truly are, no matter how big or small. External and internal tides shaping brands dynamically. Brands have always been shaped by these forces, but more so now.

What do you think this implies in terms of what brands need to do in order to remain relevant or become relevant again?

Below are a few great answers from my original post on the LinkedIn Brand 3.0 group:

(1) The result, and challenge is for brands to be consistent, but match the context. Example: how does the brand interact on Facebook, how does the brand speak in a press release or how they answer the phone?

It used to be that brands spoke in a limited number of places and it didn't take as much thought and planning to be consistent. Now it takes more skills and planning, so that in the niches and in a world of brands in active conversations with consumers the brand builds its image.

This won't deliver relevance, but if a brand is relevant to the consumer in its core promise, at least it has a better chance of communicating the relevance

Randy Werner
Consultant at The Launch Crew

(2) To be relevant a brand must address a need. In addition to relevancy, competitiveness and authenticity are critical to success. The challenge is that in a world where things change so quickly, the cycle time for reaction to ensure your brand continues to deliver on all three is shortened and business processes need to be redesigned to ensure they are not a bottleneck.

Ed Burghard
CEO and Manager at The Burghard Group, LLC

(3) To quote Shakespeare - "To thine own self be true". There has never been a time when real brand values have been more important. The changing landscape Russell describes will truly expose shortcomings and display your values, good and bad to an evermore critical world.
I think the keyword in Ed's comment is 'authenticity' - get that right before even considering the communications arena.

Ian West
Managing Director at One-Marketing Ltd

(4) Thanks Russell, I believe their era of open source information on the web is necessitating and equally open source approach to who brands are and what they stand for. Guardedness or duplicity cannot compete with transparency for long. Consumers are now using their voice to demand that brands speak up for themselves. Some will respond and others will fade away. Marketing as spectator sport.

Simon Mainwaring
Owner, Mainwaring Creative

(5) Brands are now more contextual. Yes. How to expand the influence of the brand is a challenge.

Richard Huang
manager at GreenDriv Tech Limited

(6) Russell, this is so relevant, and this conversation needs to be had in every boardroom.

Brands today must become obsessed with 1) gaining and 2) sustaining an intimate understanding of every touch point they have with their marketplace. Not only their direct customers, channels of commerce and their consumers, but also every single employee, vendor, competitor and stakeholder. And, as importantly, the circles these people live in and engage with .. not sure who came up with the term originally, but .... their tribe.

And it's not just basic demographics, it's an understanding of their needs, motivations, behavior, values and emotions. Brands must truly start to listen and watch ... and do it in all the relevant environments.

Those that seek this understanding/knowledge and spend time to glean the important insights from it, will have an absolute competitive advantage. But only if they act on it through the truth of their brand and with empathy.

Agree with all the comments here. But also believe that brands must start to evolve into more flexible entities. Not stray from their truth. But learn how to connect meaningfully with the ever more complex segmentation of markets.

Ed Holme
Principal. BOLTgroup. Brand Strategy + Product Innovation.

Moving Brands made this video about brands, social media and a changing world. I found the statement imaginative, interesting, and capturing the essence of what is changing brands, and well, why they are moving. Whether you like Moving Brands' client work or not, the fact is, brands must ironically become kinetic in order to stay true to their unwavering values—and thrive.

Is your brand moving or stuck?

Moving Brands/ Moving World from Moving Brands on Vimeo.